Andrew Lord named Head Coach of the Ontario Reign

Some news from the farm this morning as the Ontario Reign have named Andrew Lord as the team’s new Head Coach. Lord becomes the fourth head coach of the AHL club and the seventh in franchise history, including time spent in the ECHL.

Chris Hajt is expected to remain on staff working with the team’s defensemen while assistant coach Brad Schuler and goaltending coach Adam Brown are also expected to return to the coaching staff, with Schuler specializing in forwards and power play.

Lord isn’t necessarily a new face. As the former coach of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, he’s been at Kings training camps, rookie camps and development camps, as well as Ontario Reign training camps. He’s familiar with the way the Kings operate and he’s coached players who were on NHL contracts with the Kings and AHL contracts with the Reign. He knows how Ontario General Manager Richard Seeley operates and has familiarity with some of the prospects in the system. An ECHL affiliation is not nearly as tied in as an AHL affiliation, but there has been more of an integration with the Kings and Greenville than there was in years past. While that is important, what’s more important is his track record as a successful coach. Lord led Greenville to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of his four seasons behind the bench. He was selected as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season, his final in charge of the Swamp Rabbits.

Reign General Manager Richard Seeley
We are excited to welcome Andrew to the Kings and Reign family as the head coach of the Ontario Reign. At just 40 years old, Andrew has over 10 years of coaching experience in both Europe and North America and has shown the ability to create a winning culture in a variety of different environments. Andrew’s familiarity with our organization as head coach of our ECHL affiliate in Greenville will serve him well as he continues to develop the LA Kings prospects here in Ontario and his passion and work ethic will help further the strong culture in place with our existing staff.

New Reign Head Coach Andrew Lord
I am extremely excited and feel very fortunate to be a part of such a great organization. I want to thank both the LA Kings and Ontario Reign, specifically Ken Holland, Glen Murray and Richard Seeley for this incredible opportunity. I cannot wait to get started and do my part to carry on the great tradition of excellence and development put in place by former and current staff and players.

Will expect to hear from Lord potentially early next week in an introductory press conference and hopefully get an extended interview with him soon.

From the team’s official release –

A native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Lord oversaw a Halifax team that was the youngest playoff qualifier in the QMJHL a year ago and guided them to an upset of the Drummondville Voltigeurs, the league’s Western Conference champion, in the first round.

The year prior, Lord completed his fourth season in Greenville with a 44-23-4-1 record. The team’s win total and point total (93) were both the highest during his time with the Swamp Rabbits, enough to finish first in the South Division. Additionally, Lord was selected as a coach for the 2024 ECHL All-Star Classic, earning the honor by attaining the highest points percentage in the Eastern Conference prior to the Christmas break. He also set a team franchise record by leading the Swamp Rabbits to 30 regular season wins in just 42 games, faster than any other club in team history. Lord was honored with the league’s John Brophy Award at the conclusion of the season, which recognizes the ECHL Coach of the Year.

Lord’s Greenville teams qualified for the postseason in all four of his campaigns, which included back-to-back 40-win seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. In total, Lord compiled a 155-94-39 record in 288 games, a 0.606 points percentage, and reached the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals.

Prior to joining the Swamp Rabbits, Lord led the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) for six seasons from 2014-20. During that time, which included four campaigns as a player/coach, he led the Devils to nine separate titles, including three Conference championships, two Challenge Cup championships, two League titles, and two Playoff championships. Lord was the winningest coach in Devils history, leading them to an overall record of 221-75-22 while earning the league’s Coach of the Year award twice in 2017 and 2018.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Lord played professionally for 10 seasons in the AHL, ECHL EIHL and Germany’s Second Bundesliga, totaling 462 games. 216 of those contests were with Cardiff, where he scored 173 points. He also completed a four-year career at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the NCAA from 2004-08.