Stonewall’s Derek Laxdal was recently named the Ontario Hockey League’s Coach of the Year for his outstanding season with the Oshawa Generals.
In his second season guiding the Generals, the team went 25-6-4-1 after Jan. 1 and posted a 40-19-7-2 record to top the Eastern Conference. The Generals have won their first two rounds in the playoffs and are now entering the Eastern Conference best-of-seven final against the North Bay Battalion.
“To be recognized by your peers is a huge accolade as there’s a lot of great coaches in the OHL,” said Laxdal. “This is an award that everyone in our organization plays a part in, and we’ve grown so much as a team this year and where we came from last year.”
It’s been a fantastic season for Laxdal and his group, who were the top team in the OHL from Dec. 1 and on.
“We were ninth place earlier in the season, and we came back to win our conference in the regular season. We are now in the league semifinals, so it says a lot about our team.”
Before becoming a coach, Laxdal played 67 games in the NHL, split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders. He also played pro hockey for over 15 seasons, playing in several leagues throughout North America and Europe.
Throughout his playing career, Laxdal was often a captain or assistant captain, so coaching was something that he was always interested in getting into when he retired.
After serving as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars for the past three seasons, Laxdal became the head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals for the 2022-23 season.
Before joining the Dallas Stars, Laxdal spent six seasons with the AHL affiliate Texas Stars as the head coach from 2014 to 2020, which included a run to the Calder Cup final in 2018, losing in seven games to the Toronto Marlies.
His other professional coaching experiences include a five-year tenure in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads, during which he won a championship in 2007. He also coached the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings for five seasons, winning league championships in 2012 and 2014 and the Memorial Cup in 2014.
As successful as he’s been now with the Oshawa Generals, Laxdal’s ultimate goal would be to get back to coaching at the NHL level.
“My goal is to try and get back to the National Hockey League of course, but junior hockey here is the next best thing to the NHL,” said Laxdal. “And I’m really enjoying my time here.”
Laxdal will also be the OHL’s nominee for the Canadian Hockey League’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year award that will be presented during the 2024 Memorial Cup in Saginaw, Michigan. He will be formally presented with the Matt Leyden Trophy (OHL Coach of the Year) during the league’s June 12 awards ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
