All good things must come to an end.
Or at least that’s how the saying goes.
Cardiff Devils fans might just be pondering that after their head coach Andrew Lord departed the Welsh club for a job in North America.
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits swooped in to snap up Andrew Lord after opting not to extend the contract of Kevin Kerr, who had held the position of Head Coach since 2018.
There will be no recriminations or angst at Lord ‘s departure as he leaves the Cardiff Devils as the most successful coach in the history of the franchise.
• Three Conference Titles
• Two Challenge Cups
• Two Elite League Titles
• Two Playoff Championships
For those keeping counts, that’s a total of nine trophies in six seasons which could have been more had this current campaign not been cancelled.
At the time the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, table-topping Cardiff was on pace to win their 3rd Elite League title, with the possibility of adding another playoff championship success.
It wasn’t just his success behind the bench that endeared Lord to Devils fans, as he finished his playing career with Cardiff, instantly making himself a favourite with a physical brand of play and full out commitment to the cause.
In five seasons, the BC native posted 173 points in 216 (EIHL) games, including some momentous goals amongst the 63 he recorded for the Welsh club.
The Canadian’s playing career was spent in the lower ties of North American hockey after finishing an NCAA stint with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
His 165 outings in the ECHL were spent exclusively with the Wheeling Nailers, whom he captained during the 2010-11 season.
It was during that campaign that he earned a real opportunity in the American Hockey with the now-defunct Oklahoma City Barons, icing in 34 games along with a further two for the Milwaukee Admirals.
Lord would skate for one season in Germany after leaving his home continent before arriving in Cardiff and going on to create franchise history.
Andrew Lord will have his work cut out to make the kind of impact in Greenville that Cardiff fans have enjoyed for the past six years.
In their current incarnation, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits have made the playoffs on just one occasion, posting a losing record in four of the last five seasons, failing to hit thirty wins in any of those campaigns.
Greenville has swapped affiliations the past few years and is currently in a relationship with the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) and Charlotte Checkers (AHL).
What this does present, however, is a low starting platform for Lord to springboard from and make his mark in the North American coaching ranks.
Greenville is a hockey market hungry for success and the proof is that the fans support this team no matter what it seems. During he 2018-19 campaign, Greenville was ranked 15th in attendance despite finishing tied for the worst record in the league.
At 35 years old, Lord will certainly be one of the youngest coaches, if not the youngest head coach in the ECHL whenever hockey finally resumes.
With time on his side in that regard and his ambitious nature, Lord will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Cassidy, Bruce Boudreau, Peter Laviolette, Todd Reirden, to name but a few who coached in the ECHL before making their way into the NHL.
The tough job now for Cardiff is to find a replacement who is capable of building on Andrew Lord’s legacy.
Managing Director Todd Kelman spoke about Lord’s time with the Devils in a statement posted on the Cardiff website:
“It is hard to put into words the impact that Andrew Lord has had on this organisation.
“He brought a commitment to excellence and dedication to the job that I have never seen before because he loves the game and loves coaching. That carried over into the players and although he was a very demanding coach, he also got the most out of the guys and made them better players and better people.
“I’m going to miss him, we are all going to miss him. He’s a great coach, but more than that he is a great person, a genuine big personality that we all love. He brought a passion every game and it showed in the way he played and the way he coached.”
(https://www.cardiffdevils.com/news/2407/)
My instinct is this a really good fit for Andrew Lord and the timing seems right even given the uncertainty around hockey and sport in general right now.
He joins a less glamorous member of the ECHL but who are affiliated with a progressive NHL organisation that isn’t afraid to do things differently.
An assistant role in the ECHL would have been a backward step in my opinion and I’m not surprised he waited for this opportunity.
I wish Andrew Lord all the very best in North America and I’m sure the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (who have one of the best logos in hockey) will gain a few fans from Wales this season.
UK Hockey Blog 