Derek MacKenzie
Derek MacKenzie (born June 11, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the NHL's Nashville Predators.
| Derek MacKenzie | ||||||||||||||
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MacKenzie with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| Born |
June 11, 1981 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | |||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | |||||||||||||
| Played for |
Atlanta Thrashers Columbus Blue Jackets Florida Panthers | |||||||||||||
| NHL Draft |
128th overall, 1999 Atlanta Thrashers | |||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2001–2019 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2019–present | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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He was drafted 128th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He also played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for Columbus' and Atlanta's farm teams, the Syracuse Crunch and Chicago Wolves respectively. While with the Wolves, MacKenzie was part of a Calder Cup championship team in 2002 and also spent time as the team's captain. He set franchise records in career shorthanded goals for both AHL teams.
MacKenzie's father Ken is the assistant general manager of the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves. He served as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers until the 2021–22 NHL season, for whom he previously served as captain from 2016 to 2018. He was the head coach of the Sudbury Wolves during the 2022-23 season, and was named an assistant coach for the Predators in June 2023.