Derek MacKenzie (born June 11, 1981) is a

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former professional

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player who most notably played for 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 ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

and 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 ...

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 is currently an assistant coach for the NHL's

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

. He was drafted 128th overall by the

in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He also 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) for Columbus' and Atlanta's

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s, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

and

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

respectively. While with the Wolves, MacKenzie was part of a

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

championship team in 2002 and also spent time as the team's

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. 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 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 ...

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

. He served as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers until the NHL season, for whom he previously served as captain from

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. 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.

Playing career

Amateur

MacKenzie began his junior career playing for his hometown

of the

(OHL). Following his second season, in which he increased his point production from 20 to 87, he was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 128 overall, in the 1999

(NHL) entry draft. In his final season, he registered 40 goals and 89 points leading the Wolves in points and finishing sixth in the OHL. He also finished with a

face-off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...

winning percent of 67%, winning both the OHL and

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...

(CHL) Face-off Awards.

Professional

Atlanta Thrashers

Following his final season with Sudbury, MacKenzie joined the Thrashers'

(AHL) affiliate, the

. He registered 13 goals and 25 points. He also made his NHL debut for the Thrashers during the

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, against the

on April 12, 2002. By season's end, the Wolves finished with 86 points and qualified for the playoffs. In the playoffs, MacKenzie helped the Wolves win their first

championship. Over the next three seasons, MacKenzie played mainly with the Wolves, helping them back to the Calder Cup finals in 2005. The following

, he was named team

. In the opening minutes of his first home game as captain, MacKenzie crashed into the opposing team's net and broke his ankle. He returned later in the season and helped the Wolves to the franchise's 500th win. In the game, MacKenzie scored his third career

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in the 7–3 victory over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. He finished the season playing 36 games and registering 10 goals and 22 points, while the Wolves finished with 86 points and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. MacKenzie spent one more season in the Thrashers system before becoming a free agent. He finished his Thrashers career with 2 assists and 20 penalty minutes (PIMs) in 28 NHL games, and 377 games played, 83 goals, and 184 points for Chicago. He also set a franchise record for shorthanded goals with 21.

Columbus Blue Jackets

In the off-season, MacKenzie was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets to one-year, two-way contract. He began the season in the AHL playing for the

. He made his Blue Jackets debut on December 10, 2007, against the

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 ...

; he was reassigned to Syracuse the following day. Later in the season, he was re-called and scored his first career NHL goal against Mike Smith in a game against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

. At the end of the season, Columbus re-signed MacKenzie to a two-year contract. He continued to split time between Columbus and Syracuse until the 2010–11 season. During his time in Syracuse, he set the Crunch team record with 11 career shorthanded goals. He established himself as an NHL regular in 2010–11 and finished the season with career highs in goals (9), assists (14), points (23) and plus-minus rating. His +14 was the highest for a forward and third-highest total in Blue Jackets history. After establishing himself, MacKenzie became a fixture on the Blue Jackets' fourth line and an integral part of their penalty kill. The following season, he spent the entire year with the Blue Jackets. Towards the end of the season, MacKenzie suffered a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

and missed the final 16 games of the season. He finished with 7 goals and 14 points in a career-high 66 games while leading the Blue Jackets with a +4 rating. After passing an off-season physical, due to concussion concerns, Columbus re-signed MacKenzie to a two-year deal.

Florida Panthers

On July 1, 2014, MacKenzie signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Florida Panthers. Two years later, on October 9, 2016, he was named the ninth captain in Panthers' history. On September 17, 2018, he was replaced as captain by Aleksander Barkov. After playing only one game that season, he retired in the offseason and was named an assistant coach for the Panthers on June 4, 2019.

International play

Internationally, MacKenzie represented

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at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He registered a goal and three points in seven games. He also won 58.1% of his face-offs, the eight-highest percentage in the tournament. In group play, Canada went 2–1–1 to finish third in Group B. In the playoff round, Canada defeated the

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2–1 before losing to

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in the semi-final. Following the loss, Canada played

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in the bronze medal game, winning 2–1 and earning MacKenzie his lone international medal.

Personal

MacKenzie is married with two children. His father, Ken MacKenzie, is the assistant general manager of the OHL's Sudbury Wolves. Mackenzie is also good friends with former NHL forward Mike Fisher, whom he played with in Sudbury.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Derek 1981 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Wolves players Columbus Blue Jackets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Sudbury Wolves players Syracuse Crunch players Florida Panthers coaches 21st-century Canadian sportsmen