Named the second head coach in the Firebirds’ brief but brilliant history on July 5, 2024, freshly-minted frontman Derek Laxdal brings to the Coachella Valley a vast C.V. defined by ample success at myriad levels of both ice and bench. Across the past four decades as player and then coach, the 58-year-old native of Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada has long had a nose for puck prowess.
A veteran of 67 NHL games playing forward for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders between 1986-1991, Laxdal’s career coupled 356 games in the AHL, during which he accrued 230 points and 450 penalty minutes.
Laxdal segued to the bench in 2000-01 has been coaching ever since, having led teams across six different leagues, with the ‘Birds’ gig serving as his eighth job. His career highlights include six seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars from 2014-2020 (amassing a 189-139-52 mark, and a run to the Calder Cup Finals in 2018) and as an assistant for the NHL’s Dallas Stars from 2019-22.
A substantial figure in Canada’s major junior hockey scene (a key development feeder for the NHL), Laxdal’s 20 previous seasons as a head coach has seen him make his league’s respective finals seven times, with one ECHL title and a pair of WHL crowns on his mantle.
The veteran frontman comes to the desert from the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, where he was named last season’s Coach of the Year after leading his squad to the league’s title series.
Laxdal, of course, takes the CV reins from highly-successful and popular Dan Bylsma, who took the ‘Birds to back-to-back Western Conference titles and consecutive Calder Cup Finals in his two desert seasons. Amid the latter run, Bylsma was named head coach of Coachella’s NHL parent club, the Seattle Kraken, on May 28, the day before the ‘Birds played their Western series rematch against the Milwaukee Admirals.
“There was some talk (of our coaching hire) during the playoffs, but it really picked up at season’s end,” said Troy Bodie, Firebirds’ VP of Hockey Operations, in the weeks following the Laxdal hire. “Lots of interest in this job; it’s a great place to work and play, and I think many people appreciate that. This was a highly-coveted job.”
When Laxdal was formally introduced to the desert on the final day of July, Bodie would note that the new coach was atop his hire list.
“Derek had a great interview, and he’s a very passionate coach. He’s got really good experience, having taken a team in this league to the Calder Cup Finals, along with being an assistant coach in the NHL,” added Bodie. “He’s got that experience of having taken players from the AHL to the NHL, so there’s that proven track record of player development and that’s what really put him over the top. He’s also very big on details, very good at communicating with his players and very good with the offense part of the game; so, in those respects, we’ll see some similarities in what we had with Dan.”
Along with the knack for development, Laxdal has long earned the rep as a winner.
“He wins, that’s for sure, and, yeah, there will be some pressure to keep that up here,” Bodie said. “But I think that’s a good problem to have. Derek has a Kelly Cup championship (ECHL), a couple of titles in the WHL. We’ve got a proven track record of winning here, and Derek’s record was also a big factor in his hire.”
New Voice, New Squad, New Season
With his avidity for reading, the bespectacled Bylsma was reminiscent of one’s favorite English teacher (albeit one with a decades’ old sporting scar on his face). Laxdal, on the other hand, seems more like the school’s principal and head disciplinarian. Inverse to Bylsma’s habit of answering questions with lengthy replies that saw him intellectualizing his way to a conclusion, the Laxdal way would seem to mirror a stature which is Canadian-style succinct: direct, tough, and gruff.
And let the latter not serve as a pejorative; rather, this is the kind of guy one decidedly wants on their side of the ice.
“For me, to get back to the AHL, to be a part of such a young franchise that’s already had huge success, it’s quite an honor and a privilege to take the reins and try to take it to the next level,” said Laxdal in a conversation exclusive to Desert Magazine. “It’s hard getting to the playoffs, it’s hard winning a playoff round, it’s very hard getting to the finals. And the success that the Firebirds have had over the past two years…it’s special. The organization has, of course, been to the finals twice in two years – and now we wanna’ get over that hump.”
Since a virtual introduction to the local media in the days’ following his hire, Laxdal undoubtedly used the ensuing weeks to familiarize himself with the Firebirds’ pair of tough, back-to-back losses to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Finals.
“I think the fans in the Valley have seen or learned that it’s such a game of inches: one call, one post, one offsides, one big save, one short-handed breakaway,” continued Laxdal. “But we can’t just focus on the endgame; we know it’s there, but we have to focus on our first game. Let’s get these kids off and running.”
Per those “kids,” the new head coach is not merely versed with the high expectations of his new post. Even speaking between the lines, he knows that a new look roster for 2024-25 may present a season of player development. Gone are two-year Firebirds’ mainstays Chris Driedger, Cameron Hughes, Kole Lind, Andrew Poturalski, Ville Petman and Jimmy Schuldt – all having signed elsewhere as free agents. Additionally, one-year ‘Birds flying elsewhere include the impactful Connor Carrick, Devin Shore and Marian Studenic. Per those within the organization, it’s anticipated that frontliners John Hayden, Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright, along with defenseman Ryker Evans, will also have an opportunity to make the Kraken roster.
As for those donning CV sweaters in the season to come? Highly-popular team captain Max McCormick was re-signed in the off-season, and could prove a continual “tweener” amid Seattle and Coachella Valley. The other returning vets include defenders Cale Fleury and Gustav Olofsson, along with forwards Luke Henman and Ian McKinnon.
Translation, and per the AHL’s typical ethos: Under Laxdal, this year’s ‘Birds are transitioning to a developmental phase, grooming a host of bright prospects and former Kraken draft picks for the potential of future NHL jobs.
Per the AHL present? Laxdal, lauded as a true groomer of talent, is well-aware of his role in developing players for the big club, while concurrently sating the ‘Birds’ rabid fan base.
“’What does it take to be a Seattle Kraken?’ That’s the endgame,” Laxdal explained. “But first, these guys need to understand what it takes to be a CV Firebird. I’ve been fortunate to have had success in my career, to have had some great players and great teams; and I think that’s just a part of my style and my personality. It’s hard just to say, ‘We’re going to the Calder Cup Finals,’ but when the players walk through these doors – whether with Coachella Valley or Seattle – they know there are expectations.”
As for his new home, Laxdal is far from immune to the nomadic lifestyle which generally defines his profession (and, lest fans forget, the Coachella Valley was Bylsma’s 19th stop across his playing and coaching career). And yet, the new coach is quick to acknowledge that his new home is one both atypical and coveted.
“It’s incredible how many people came out of the woodwork when we told them we were going to the Coachella Valley,” laughed Laxdal. “We have to make sure we rent a big enough house for all the people who want to come down and visit.”
For a coaching veteran who has seen barns and benches across the continent, Derek Laxdal further recognizes that his new Firebirds gig is set to take flight with a lineup of off-ice benefits.
“This is one of those sacred places where everybody goes in the wintertime because they know it’ a great spot. So, to be able to come here and to do what I love to do in such a great part of the world, it’s a win-win,” Laxdal said. “We enjoy the outdoors; really enjoy hiking, and I think we’ll integrate into this community very easily. I want to be able to enjoy it here; I want my family to be able to enjoy it; I want my wife to be able to enjoy it, as she’s somebody who has always given back to the communities in which we’ve lived.”
As for pairing some putt with his puck?
“Yeah,” smiled Laxdal in closure, “I’m guessing both my wife and I will take up golf.”
