Thunder Get Their Man, Name Laxdal Head Coach

Wichita, Kansas (Courtesy of the Wichita Thunder)

Derek Laxdal was officially named head coach of the Wichita Thunder, the Thunder front office announced today. Laxdal, a 36-year old native of Gimli, Manitoba, has spent the last five seasons serving as an assistant coach under the tutelage of Don McKee, head coach of the Odessa Jackalopes. Three of those five seasons, Laxdal also played under McKee, serving as player assistant with the Jackalopes during the 1999-00 and 00-01 seasons and with the Sheffield Steelers of the British Ice Hockey Superleague during the 1998-99 and 99-00 campaigns. As an assistant with Odessa, the team compiled a 133-59-26 record, including the 2001-02 regular season championship.

An eighth-round draft choice (151st overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1984, Laxdal's professional playing career spanned 15 full seasons and 705 games. He made stops in the American Hockey League, Finnish National League, East Coast Hockey League, British National League, British Superleague, Western Professional Hockey League and the National Hockey League. He skated in 67 games in the NHL with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, picking up 19 points (12-7-19).

A winner everywhere he has played, Laxdal won a Memorial Cup with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League in 1983, a silver medal with team Canada at the World Junior Championships in 1986, a Calder Cup with the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League in 1990 and helped guide the Jackalopes to the best regular season record in the Central Hockey League last season.

"With every closed door, another door always seems to open," said Laxdal. "I had the opportunity to visit Wichita last week and was impressed by the city and the organization as a whole. I am looking forward to settling in Wichita. I believe that Wichita will be a great fit for my family and my family will be a good fit in Wichita."

Laxdal is a part of the 3M National Coaching Certification Program in Canada. That program has produced the likes of NHL coaches Andy Murray and Ken Hitchcock and Jackalopes head coach Don McKee. "I have played under some great coaches in my time from John Brophy, to Al Arbour, Butch Goring and Don McKee. You always take a little piece of each coaching style to make it your own. The Thunder has an important stretch of games to play in the last half of the season. A team is never out of the playoffs until the math says so. We will play each game with vigor in an effort to make a solid run at the playoffs."

Laxdal will make his debut as head coach of the Thunder on Friday, January 17 on the road against the Indianapolis Ice. He will make his home debut on Friday, January 31, also against the Ice.

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