Dave Hakstol

David Hakstol (born July 30, 1968) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. Hakstol was the head coach for Sioux City Musketeers for four seasons, followed by four years as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota. He was promoted to head coach in 2004 and led the program for eleven seasons. Hakstol was a head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2015, leading the team until his firing in 2018; additionally, he served as the first head coach of the NHL's Seattle Kraken from 2021 to 2024, after their expansion. Internationally, Hakstol was an assistant coach for Canada's national men's team in 2017 and 2019.

Hakstol is a native of Warburg, Alberta; he played for the UND Fighting Sioux from 1989 to 1992 and in the International Hockey League (IHL) for five years.

Career
Hakstol attended the University of North Dakota and played hockey there from 1989 to 1992. He played minor league hockey for five years, including stints with the Indianapolis Ice and Minnesota Moose. After retiring as a player, he moved to the coaching ranks with the Sioux City Musketeers. He replaced a fired head coach in the middle of the 1996–97 season and remained in the role for four years. He was succeeded by Dave Siciliano.

Hakstol became an assistant coach with his alma mater North Dakota in 2000 under head coach Dean Blais. When Blais left for the NHL in 2004, Hakstol was promoted to head coach and led UND to the NCAA Frozen Four seven times in eleven seasons. He was honored with conference coach of the year awards in 2009 and 2015, and was an eight-time finalist for national coach of the year.

On May 18, 2015, it was announced that Hakstol would become the Philadelphia Flyers' 19th head coach. Hakstol is the first head coach to go directly from the NCAA to the NHL since 1982 (Bob Johnson from the University of Wisconsin to the Calgary Flames). Hakstol picked up his first NHL victory in the Flyers' third game of the season, a 1–0 win over the Florida Panthers.

On April 11, 2017, it was announced that Hakstol would join Jon Cooper, Gerard Gallant, and Dave King as coaches of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the 2017 IIHF World Championship tournament.

On December 17, 2018, the Flyers relieved Hakstol as the head coach of the team after a 12–15–4 start to the 2018–19 season. On June 29, 2019, he was hired as assistant head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and stayed for two seasons.

Hakstol was hired as head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken on June 24, 2021. In their second season, he was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year, after the Kraken qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history and improved by 19 wins and 40 points in the standings. In July 2023, the Kraken extended Hakstol's contract through the 2025–26 season. After missing the playoffs the subsequent season, Hakstol was fired by Seattle on April 29, 2024.