Derek King
Canadian ice hockey player and coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek King (born February 11, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and current head coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.[2] He most recently served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. King played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1986–87 until 1999–2000.
| Derek King | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 11, 1967 | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New York Islanders Hartford Whalers Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues Munich Barons | ||
| Current AHL coach | Hershey Bears | ||
| Coached for | Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft |
13th overall, 1985 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1986–2000 | ||
| Coaching career | 2021–present | ||
Playing career
King was drafted 13th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1985 NHL entry draft. He played 830 career NHL games, scoring 261 goals and 351 assists for 612 points. He was a three-time 30-goal scorer, including one 40-goal season. He scored the last Maple Leafs goal in Maple Leaf Gardens in 1999.[3]
Coaching career
On August 21, 2009, King was named the assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies. In 2014, he was promoted to associate coach.[4]
On July 28, 2015, King was named assistant coach of the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League.[5] However, he left the Attack on October 28, 2015.[6]
On July 7, 2016, King was named an assistant coach with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.[7] On November 6, 2018, King was named the interim head coach of the IceHogs when head coach Jeremy Colliton was promoted to the Blackhawks.[8] King was named the permanent head coach of the IceHogs at the end of the 2018–19 season.[9]
On November 6, 2021, King was named interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League to replace the dismissed Colliton, who led the team to a 1–9–2 start to the 2021–22 season.[10]
On November 7, 2021 King earned his first win as an NHL head coach as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 2–1 in overtime in his head coaching debut.[11]
On June 27, 2022, King was replaced as head coach of the Blackhawks by former Montreal Canadiens assistant and longtime NHL defenseman Luke Richardson, but rehired 14 days later as an assistant coach.
On August 4, 2025 the Hershey Bears announced King as the 29th head coach in franchise history, replacing Todd Nelson who left the organization after winning two Calder Cup titles in his 3 year tenure.[12]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | Hamilton Mountain A's | OPJHL | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Hamilton Mountain A's | OPJHL | 37 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 142 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 63 | 35 | 38 | 73 | 106 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 11 | ||
| 1985–86 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 25 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 19 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | ||
| 1986–87 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 57 | 53 | 53 | 106 | 74 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 40 | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Islanders | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 10 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Islanders | NHL | 55 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 60 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 21 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | New York Islanders | NHL | 66 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 40 | 38 | 78 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Islanders | NHL | 77 | 38 | 38 | 76 | 47 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | ||
| 1993–94 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 43 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 61 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New York Islanders | NHL | 70 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 77 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 81 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 52 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 25 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 76 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | München Barons | DEL | 60 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 59 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 20 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 77 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 830 | 261 | 351 | 612 | 417 | 47 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 24 | ||||