Don Hay (born February 13, 1954) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

head coach. As a player, Hay played shortly in the International Hockey League before becoming a three-time

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

-winning coach, predominantly in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

with brief stints in

Playing career

He was born in

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

. After three years of junior in the

BCJHL The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Cana ...

and WCHL, Hay was drafted by the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in the 12th round, 193rd overall, of the 1974 NHL Entry Draft, as well as by the Houston Aeros in the 18th round, 230th overall, of the 1974 WHA Entry Draft. However, he never made it to either league as a player, and instead played in the minors during two seasons with the

Lansing Lancers The Lansing Lancers were a professional ice hockey team playing in the International Hockey League. They were based in Lansing, Michigan and played their games at Metro Ice Arena. They were a member of the league during the 1974–1975 season, a ...

, Columbus Owls and

Flint Generals The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center. The Generals won two league championship ...

of the IHL, and one season with the

Philadelphia Firebirds The Philadelphia Firebirds were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1979, and later the franchise moved to Syracuse, New York, and played one final season as the Syracuse Firebirds. ...

of the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American professio ...

Coaching career

Hay began his coaching career in 1986–87 as an assistant coach with his hometown

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers o ...

of the WHL. After six years as an assistant, Hay took over the reins as the Blazers head coach in

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

and immediately distinguished himself, subsequently leading his team to two

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

titles (1994, 1995) and two

titles (1994, 1995) in three years. Hay's success in the major junior ranks caught the attention of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and after spending a year as an assistant coach with the

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

, Hay was named the head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes for the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. T ...

, their first year in Phoenix. Despite posting a respectable 38–37–7 record, Hay was let go by the Coyotes after a single season and after one more season in the NHL as an assistant coach with the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

, Hay returned to the WHL. Immediately upon returning to major junior with the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio ...

in 1998–99, Hay won the

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy The Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Coach of the Year in the Western Hockey League. It was named in honour of Dunc McCallum, who coached the Brandon Wheat Kings from 1976–81, compiling a 251–123–41 record during that ...

as WHL coach of the year; furthermore, he was prestigiously honoured as the WHL's best coach of all-time by the CHL. This earned him a second chance in the NHL, after two seasons with Tri-City, as the head coach of the Calgary Flames. His second stint in the NHL, however, was even shorter, as he was fired by the Flames just 68 games into the 2000–01 season. Overall, Hay coached 150 games in the NHL, compiling a record of 61–65–20–4. Moving to the AHL, Hay coached the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

from 2001 to 2004 before once again returning to the WHL to coach the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in t ...

, guiding them to a

title in 2006 and a

title in 2007. He was nominated once more for the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy in 2006, but lost to Willie Desjardins of the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

. On July 25, 2008, Hay was inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame, along with former NHLers Steve Yzerman and

Cliff Ronning Clifford John Ronning (born October 1, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall. During a National Hockey League (NHL) c ...

. Leading the Giants to within 3 points of the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

for their first WHL regular season title, he won his second Dunc McCallum Trophy for the 2008–09 season. On August 26, 2010, he agreed to a multi-year extension that was to keep him behind the Giants bench through 2015. However, Hay returned to coach the Kamloops Blazers for the 2014-15 season. And on May 27, 2011, Hay was named head coach of the 2012 Canadian World Junior Hockey Championship team. Hay had previously won gold at the tournament with the Canadians in 1995 in Red Deer, Alta. On April 28, 2013, he coached Canada's U-18 men's team to a Gold Medal against the United States, in Sochi, Russia. In 2014, he returned to

as head coach after 19 seasons away from the team. After four more seasons of coaching, Hay retired in 2018 and became an adviser for the Blazers. In August 2018, Hay was hired by the

Portland Winterhawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split thei ...

to be an assistant coach.

Awards and achievements

At the start of the 2006–07 season, his second with the Giants, Hay became the fourteenth head coach in WHL history to win 300 games. Two seasons later, Hay became the ninth coach to win 400 games, defeating the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hocke ...

4–3 on November 1, 2008. On January 27, 2018, Hay became the all-time leader in the WHL coaching victories, with his 743rd regular season win. * President's Cup/Ed Chynoweth Cup – 1994, 1995, 2006 *

– 1994, 1995, 2007 *

(WHL Coach of the Year) – 1999, 2009 *British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame – 2008

Playing statistics

Coaching statistics

References

External links

Don Hay's profile at hockeydb.comDon Hay's profile at eliteprospects.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Don 1954 births Anaheim Ducks coaches Arizona Coyotes coaches Calgary Flames coaches Calgary Centennials players Houston Aeros draft picks Kamloops Blazers coaches Living people Memorial Cup winners Minnesota North Stars draft picks New Westminster Bruins players People from Kamloops Philadelphia Firebirds (NAHL) players Tri-City Americans coaches Vancouver Giants coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian ice hockey coaches