The Sudbury Wolves have a new head coach. At a press conference this morning, the Pack announced that Derek MacKenzie is the club’s 31st head coach.
A former Wolves player himself, MacKenzie played 257 games through four seasons for the Pack between 1997 and 2001, earning 95 goals and 158 assists for 253 points. In 1999, MacKenzie was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft, going onto an 18-year pro hockey career with AHL and NHL squads, including the Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers.
The Wolves expect MacKenzie to take over behind the bench beginning Nov. 18. While he works through re-locating to Sudbury, MacKenzie will work virtually with the coaching staff and players.
“I’d like to thank Dario (Zulich, team owner), Rob (Papineau, vice-president of hockey operations and general manager), and the whole Sudbury Wolves organization for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to take this Wolves team to the next level,” said 41-year-old MacKenzie in a news release.
“My family and I are very excited to be coming back home. Although we have challenges ahead of us, I’m very excited and optimistic that this team will have great success in the future and I’m looking forward to getting home as soon as possible.”
Zulich, the team’s owner, said the hiring of MacKenzie’s fits in with his personal commitment to bring a championship team to Sudbury.
“I assure Sudbury Wolves fans that I will do whatever it takes to bring a championship team to Sudbury, and I believe Derek will help us take that next step in achieving that,” Zulich said. “I have worked hard with the organization this past year to provide a new experience for Wolves fans and I want to continue to do that in every aspect of the organization and bring playoff hockey back to Sudbury.”
MacKenzie had a solid career as a player. In 550 AHL games, he had 147 goals and 185 assists for 332 points, picking up 567 penalty minutes. During his 611 NHL games, he scored 51 goals and added 74 assists for 125 points, and 337 penalty minutes.
He also won the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2012, and served as an alternate captain of the Florida Panthers from 2014-2016 and captain from 2016-2018.
MacKenzie was on the Team Canada squad that won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Junior Hockey Championships.
He suffered an injury in 2018 and retired, transitioning to assist the Panthers coaching staff in an unofficial capacity before officially being named an assistant coach in 2019. MacKenzie is also the son of Wolves assistant GM and Interim Head Coach Ken MacKenzie.
The Wolves are coming off an 8-4 win over the Mississauga Steelheads this past Sunday and will return to home ice this weekend for double-header action on Nov. 11 against the Guelph Storm and Nov. 12 against the Kitchener Rangers. Both games are set for 7:05 p.m. puck drops.
Tickets are on sale now at the Sudbury Arena box office or online at greatersudbury.ca/tickets.
