The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the organization has hired Dave Hakstol as Assistant Coach. Hakstol will join current assistant Nolan Pratt, Goaltending Coach Jussi Parkkila and Assistant/Video Coach Brett Heimlich on Head Coach Jared Bednar’s staff.
Hakstol, 56, most recently was on an NHL bench when he was the first Head Coach of the Seattle Kraken, serving in that role from 2021-24. In those three seasons, the Kraken posted a 107-112-27 record and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23. That postseason, the team made it to the Second Round as a Wild Card on the heels of a 100-point campaign that made Hakstol a finalist for the 2023 Jack Adams Award. The Kraken improved by 19 wins and 40 standings points between seasons one and two with him as the bench boss. Hakstol spent the 2024-25 campaign as an Assistant Coach for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup.
“Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience behind the bench and will be a great fit on Jared’s staff,” said Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland. “He has an extensive coaching background with a lot of success and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
“I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Avalanche,” said Hakstol. “This is a proud organization with a lot of talented players and a tremendous coaching staff led by Jared Bednar. I look forward to being a part of this special group and can’t wait to get to work and help the team in any way that I can. My family and I are also very much looking forward to being a part of this community and wonderful state of Colorado.”
A native of Drayton Valley, Alberta, Hakstol was behind the bench as an assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019-20 and 2020-21, earning a postseason berth in both seasons. In that span, the club scored 423 goals and recorded a 21.7% power play, ranking tied for third and tied for eighth in the NHL, respectively. Prior to his tenure in Toronto, Hakstol was the Head Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers over parts of the 2015-19 seasons. The Flyers compiled a 134-101-42 regular-season record and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice under his tutelage.
Hakstol spent 15 seasons coaching at the University of North Dakota – his alma mater – before joining the Flyers. The final 11 of those campaigns saw Hakstol as the program’s Head Coach (2004-15). During that span, North Dakota recorded a 289-143-43 clip, reached the Frozen Four seven times, took home four conference playoff championships and three regular-season titles. He was selected as the Coach of the Year for his conference twice (2008-09 as Western Collegiate Hockey Association; 2014-15 as National Collegiate Hockey Conference).
Prior to joining North Dakota’s coaching ranks, Hakstol served as the Head Coach of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League from 1996-00 and also held the title of General Manager his final season there. In his playing days, Hakstol played five seasons of pro hockey with the International Hockey League’s Minnesota Moose (1994-96) and the Indianapolis Ice (1991-94). The defenseman competed for North Dakota from 1989-92 and was the team captain his final two seasons in Grand Forks.
On the international stage, Hakstol has won a silver medal twice as an assistant for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in 2017 and 2019. The 2017 team had Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon on it, while Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was on the 2019 club.
