By Scott Roblin

Desjardins hired as Los Angeles Kings interim head coach

Nov 4, 2018 | 12:56 PM

LOS ANGELES, CA – Former Medicine Hat Tigers bench boss Willie Desjardins is back in the National Hockey League, as he was hired by the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday as the team’s new interim head coach.

Desjardins will take over from former Kings head coach John Stevens, who was fired on Sunday after the Kings started the 2018-19 season with a league-worst record of 4-8-1.

It’s a return to the NHL for the 61-year-old Desjardins, who served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for three years before being fired by the team at the end of the 2016-17 season.

Medicine Hat fans however will recognize Desjardins from his eight years with the Tigers organization between 2002 and 2010, where he led the team to a 333-182-15-46 record and two WHL championships.

Desjardins was also the Tigers’ winningest coach in franchise history until last season, when current head coach Shaun Clouston passed him.

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Speaking about his mentor on Sunday, Clouston said he’s thrilled to see Desjardins get another crack at the NHL level.

“He’s a great coach, he’s a great person,” said Clouston. “I think they’re a team right now that’s struggling a little bit. I think one of his strengths is to be able to create some togetherness and get guys believing and working together, they probably need a little bit of that right now. He’s got a ton of coaching experience, tons of success. So, it’s not surprising to see him back, but I think he’ll do a great job.”

More recently, Desjardins is coming off a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and is in the first year of leading the new South Alberta Hockey Academy for students in the Prairie Rose School Division.

We’ll have more on Desjardins hiring as it becomes available.