Jay Woodcroft (born August 11, 1976) is a Canadian 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.

Early life

Woodcroft was a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

at an early age, appearing in the 1979 pilot episode of ''

The Littlest Hobo ''The Littlest Hobo'' () is the Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on C ...

'' when he was under two years old''.'' He also played Bobby Moore in the 1986 film ''

Separate Vacations ''Separate Vacations'' is a Canadian sex comedy film, directed by Michael Anderson and released in 1986. The film stars David Naughton and Jennifer Dale as Richard and Sarah Moore, a long-married couple whose relationship has become unfulfilli ...

.''

Playing career

After completing four seasons at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Woodcroft played four seasons of

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

ice hockey in the United States, and one in the German Oberliga.

Coaching career

Woodcroft was hired as a video coach for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in 2005; he won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

as Detroit's video coach. Later that year, he joined the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

as an assistant coach under head coach

Todd McLellan Todd Andrew McLellan (born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as head coach of the San Jose Shark ...

. In April 2015, the Sharks announced that they had agreed to part ways with head coach McLellan, assistant coaches Jim Johnson and Woodcroft, as well as video coordinator Brett Heimlich. Two months later, 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 ...

appointed Woodcroft and Johnson as assistant coaches, rejoining newly appointed head coach McLellan in Edmonton. On April 27, 2018, Woodcroft was appointed the head coach of the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Dignity Healt ...

, the Oilers'

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) affiliate. Under his guidance, the Condors had a 105–71–21 record during the regular season and captured the Pacific Division playoff championship during the 2020–21 season. Bakersfield also captured the Pacific Division regular season title in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. On February 10, 2022, the Oilers announced they fired

Dave Tippett David G. Tippett (born August 25, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. Tippett played in the NHL from 1983 to 1994 as a winger for the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Cap ...

from the team, and named Woodcroft interim head coach. Following a successful run to the Western Conference Finals, on June 21, Edmonton signed Woodcroft to an extension to remain as team's head coach. On November 12, 2023, the Oilers fired Woodcroft after the team started 3–9–1. He was replaced as head coach by

Kris Knoblauch Kris Knoblauch (born September 24, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He had previously been the head coach of the Hartford Wolf P ...

, who had been the head coach of the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

of the AHL. On April 25, 2024, Woodcroft was named as an assistant coach for the Canadian team at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/mens-worlds-coaching-staff-named-2024-mwc

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodcroft, Jay 1976 births Living people Alabama–Huntsville Chargers men's ice hockey players Anchorage Aces players Bakersfield Condors coaches Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Corpus Christi Icerays players Detroit Red Wings coaches Edmonton Oilers coaches Flint Generals players Ice hockey people from Toronto Jackson Bandits players Missouri River Otters players San Jose Sharks coaches