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Lightning names AHL’s Derek Lalonde as new assistant

Jon Cooper's staff is complete, adding 45-year-old who has also coached in USHL, ECHL and NCAA.
 
Published July 12, 2018

The Lightning has completed Jon Cooper's coaching staff for the upcoming season, announcing on Thursday the hiring of Derek Lalonde, who spent the last two seasons as head coach of the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild.

Lalonde, 45, has steadily worked his way up through the ranks of junior and developmental hockey leagues. He even has one stop in common with Cooper, having worked as head coach of the United States Hockey League's Green Bay Gamblers in 2011-14; Cooper coached the Gamblers from 2008-10.

Before his time with the Wild, Lalonde was an assistant coach in the NCAA (Ferris State, University of Denver) and a head coach in the USHL, ECHL (Toledo Walleye) and then the AHL. He also worked as a coach at the Lightning's development camp in 2013.

The Lightning have hired Lalonde and former Tampa Bay forward Jeff Halpern as new assistants. They replaced Rick Bowness and Brad Lauer, who weren't brought back after this past season.