On Thursday afternoon, the Rockford IceHogs announced that interim head coach Derek King would remain as head coach for the 2019–20 season. Additionally, Anders Sörensen has received a multi-year contract to remain as an assistant coach under King with the IceHogs.
Derek King named IceHogs’ head coach for 2019–20 season
In early November of the 2018–19 season, the Chicago Blackhawks and Rockford IceHogs underwent head coach changes as the Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville and promoted Jeremy Colliton to the NHL head coaching position in Chicago. King then moved into the interim head coaching role with the IceHogs for the remainder of the season.
Rockford IceHogs interim head coach Derek King watches on during an IceHogs game this season. (Photograph courtesy of Texas Stars)
Under King, the IceHogs went 29–28–7 and finished in seventh-place in the AHL Central Division with 80 points, seven behind the fourth-place Grand Rapids Griffins for the final Divisional spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The IceHogs finished the season with the AHL’s lowest-scoring offense and the 29th ranked power play, but had the goaltending duo that put up the AHL’s best team save percentage and had the IceHogs surrendering the 10th-fewest goals last season. Rockford’s penalty kill finished the season ranked 10th in the AHL.
Similar to the outlook for Jeremy Colliton with the Blackhawks, King will benefit from having a full offseason and training camp as the IceHogs head coach to have more control over the operations of his team and continue his job developing the future of the Blackhawks’ prospect system. King is hailed as a ‘players coach’ and routinely talked last season about letting the players monitor themselves, stepping in when he felt necessary.
Prior to serving as the interim head coach this past season, King had served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies from 2009–2015, an assistant coach for the Owen Sound Attack during the 2015–16 season, and an assistant coach for the Rockford IceHogs from 2016–18. King is also a veteran of 830 NHL games and 299 AHL/IHL games as a player.