Dallas Franklin Eakins ('' né'' Yoder; January 20, 1967) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach and former player. He previously served as the head coach of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He currently serves as head coach and general manager of the Adler Mannheim of the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Early years

Eakins' mother, Carol Ploof, was a native of

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. His birth father was a Native American, Ted Yoder, who Eakins believes was

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

. Both parents split up shortly after his birth. Ploof later married Jim Eakins, a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

long-distance

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, and Dallas subsequently adopted his stepfather's last name. In October 1974, Eakins' family relocated to

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1980

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from Peterborough.

Playing career

Eakins played 4 seasons in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) for the Peterborough Petes, being named the captain in his final year and also the team's best defenseman that season. Jeff Twohey who was with the Petes for 3 decades called him the best captain the team ever had, saying "He was a great leader. He was a hard worker, loyal, tough, and never afraid to confront people. He knew how to keep players in line." Eakins was drafted 208th overall by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play 120 career NHL games, scoring no goals and 9 assists for 9 points, thus becoming the second Floridian to play in the NHL, but the first to ever record a point. Eakins is the first player born in the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to play for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

, having played for the club on two separate stints (but was raised primarily in Canada). However, the majority of Eakins' career was played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) and the International Hockey League (IHL). In those two leagues, Eakins played 882 games, scoring 43 goals and 179 assists for 222 points, whilst playing for 10 different teams. Eakins also won a Calder Cup and a Turner Cup as a member of the Chicago Wolves. Eakins once made a bet with

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

radio personality Dennis "Wildman" Walker of WEBN while a member of the Cincinnati Cyclones that he would not score more than 3 goals in one season. Walker stated that Eakins could shave his head at center ice of the Cincinnati Gardens if he eclipsed that mark. Eakins not only scored six goals but did it in 30 games. The head shaving took place at center ice, before a game in December 1994, against the Long Beach Ice Dogs. While serving as the captain of the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

in the 2003–04, Eakins switched from his number 6 to number 37, in honor of his friend and former Wolves teammate, Dan Snyder, who was killed in a car accident in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Snyder was a member of the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Eakins joined the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

organization as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies and later the Maple Leafs in 2006. In 2009, he was given head coaching duties for the Marlies. While with the Marlies, Eakins was named as one of two head coaches representing the Western Conference for the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 seasons AHL All-Star games. Eakins left the Marlies in the summer of 2013 to become the head coach of the

, but was fired from his position after only 18 months on December 15, 2014. In June 2015, the

hired Eakins as the head coach of their AHL-affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. On June 17, 2019, the Anaheim Ducks named Eakins as the franchise's 10th head coach. On April 14, 2023, the Ducks announced Eakins' contract would not be renewed, ending his four-year tenure as head coach. On November 27, 2023, Eakins was announced as the new head coach and general manager of a struggling Adler Mannheim in the German

DEL Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...

, after a mid-season dismissal of general manager Jan-Axel Alavaara and head coach Johan Lundskog.

Personal life

Eakins is married to actress Ingrid Kavelaars. They have two daughters together. His career is profiled in the book ''Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers'' by Kurt Dusterberg.Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers.
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Career statistics

Head coaching record

NHL

* Shortened seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons

AHL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eakins, Dallas 1967 births Living people American emigrants to Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American men's ice hockey defensemen American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent Anaheim Ducks coaches Baltimore Skipjacks players Beast of New Haven players Binghamton Rangers players Calgary Flames players Canadian adoptees Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players Edmonton Oilers coaches Florida Panthers players Ice hockey players from Florida Ice hockey people from Peterborough, Ontario Manitoba Moose players Moncton Hawks players Native American sportspeople New York Islanders players New York Rangers players People from Dade City, Florida Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Phoenix Coyotes players St. John's Maple Leafs players St. Louis Blues players Sportspeople from Pasco County, Florida Springfield Falcons players Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies coaches Washington Capitals draft picks Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Worcester IceCats players 20th-century American sportsmen