The Oshawa Generals have had to make a head coaching change after Derek Laxdal signed in the AHL
The OHL 2023-24 Coach of the Year is moving on. Derek Laxdal is taking his coaching wisdom to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, affiliates of the Seattle Kraken.
The Oshawa Generals Head Coach led the team to a first-place finish, a 40-19-7-2 record, in the Eastern Conference. The 2023-24 Gens team on paper did not have as talented of a roster as North Bay or Sudbury, and they struggled out of the gate. But the team turned it on from November and on with many thanks to Laxdal’s coaching prowess behind the bench.
Led by Laxdal, the Generals continued to ride their end-of-the-season momentum and defeated the North Bay Battalion in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. This was the first time since 2015 that Oshawa had reached the OHL Finals.
Laxdal’s coaching resume has a lot of accolades to it. Of course, he recently won the OHL’s Coach of the Year, but he’s also a two-time WHL Champion with the Edmonton Oil Kings and won the Memorial Cup with them in 2014.
Additionally, he took home the ECHL’s Kelly Cup as Head Coach of the Idaho Steelheads in 2007, and a few years later was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2009-10.
Laxdal, 58, has spent time as a Head Coach in the AHL previously. After his successful run in the WHL with Edmonton, the Texas Stars brought him aboard where he acted as the man behind the bench from 2014 to 2019, before being promoted to assistant coach of the Dallas Stars midway through the 2019-20 season.
In conjunction with the news of Laxdal leaving the Oshawa organization. The team has promoted associate coach Steve O’Rourke, naming him the Generals 36th Head Coach in team history.
O’Rourke, 49, has spent the last two seasons as an associate coach to Laxdal. He explained that it’s a bittersweet moment for him as he’s losing a great coach, mentor, and friend in Derek, but he’s excited for the opportunity.
Steve is a product of Summerland, British Columbia, and began his coaching career out west with the Abbotsford Heat in the AHL from 2009 to 2011.
He spent six years as an assistant/associate coach in the WHL for the Red Deer Rebels and Prince George Cougars from 2013 to 2019.
The Generals will look to build upon their terrific 2023-24 season while under new Head Coach Steve O’Rourke.