Willie Desjardins is the 12th coach in Western Hockey League history to hit the 500-win plateau following a decisive 8-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels Friday night.
Desjardins, 67, got his WHL coaching career started with a stint as the interim Head Coach of the Saskatoon Blades during the 1997-98 season. Hailing from Climax, Sask., Desjardins tallied the first 10 wins of his WHL career in 1998, before moving on to become the head coach for Canada’s men’s national team.
The 2002-03 season marked Desjardins’ return to the WHL and the beginning of his legendary status in Medicine Hat, as he became the Head Coach of the Tigers. Over eight seasons, Desjardins led the Tigers to four consecutive Central Division crowns (2003-04 through 2006-07), culminating with WHL Championships in 2004 and 2007.
The 2005-06 campaign saw the Tigers claim the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL Regular Season Champions with a record of 47-16-1-8. Desjardins was recognized with the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as WHL Coach of the Year as well as the Brian Kilrea Award as CHL Coach of the Year.
Following the 2009-10 WHL season, Desjardins departed to pursue professional opportunities – first serving as an assistant coach for the Dallas Stars (2010-11, 2011-12) before taking over as Head Coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, where he was named AHL Coach of the Year (2012-13) and won the Calder Cup (2013-14). Desjardins was named Head Coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks prior to the onset of the 2014-15 season. He spent parts of four seasons in the NHL – including three with the Canucks and one as the interim Head Coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
Desjardins returned to Medicine Hat as General Manager and Head Coach for the 2019-20 season, where he has been ever since. In his first season back, Desjardins guided the Tigers to 41 wins in 63 games before COVID-19 cut the season short.
During the WHL’s 2020-21 development season, Desjardins and the Tigers went 14-8-0-1 in 23 games, before an 11-win season in 2021-22. The 2022-23 campaign saw Desjardins behind the bench for another 30-win season. In 2023-24, Desjardins and the Tigers collected 37 wins, going 37-23-6-2 to finish second in the WHL’s Central Division.
In addition to the on-ice triumphs, Desjardins has played a role in the development of many NHL-calibre stars during his time in Medicine Hat, including the likes of Kris Russell (3-67, 2005), Darren Helm (5-132, 2005), Tyler Ennis (1-26, 2008), and most recently Cayden Lindstrom (1-4, 2024) and Andrew Basha (2-41, 2024), with Gavin McKenna still to come, projected to be the first-overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Over the course of his 14-season WHL career, the Tigers have registered seven seasons of at least 40 wins, including 52 triumphs during the 2006-07 season. Should Medicine Hat continue at its current pace (24 wins in 41 games), the 2024-25 season will become the eighth campaign of at least 40 victories for Desjardins.
On top of his accomplishments in the WHL, Desjardins coached Canada’s men’s National Junior Team, helping the squad to a gold medal in 2009 and a silver medal in 2010.
Desjardins coached the Canadian men’s National Team at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, guiding the group to a bronze medal finish. He also helped Canada win gold at the Spengler Cup in 2017.
With 500 career WHL regular season victories, Desjardins is 18 wins behind the legendary Pat Ginnell, who won 518 games over 15 seasons, including three seasons as General Manager and Head Coach of the Tigers (1979-80 to 1981-82) to finish his WHL coaching career.
Desjardins will look to continue moving up the WHL’s all-time winningest coach ranks Saturday night when his Medicine Hat Tigers (24-15-2-0) travel to Edmonton to face the surging Oil Kings (22-14-1-2), who have collected points in five consecutive outings (4-0-0-1) and are 7-2-0-1 in their previous 10 games.
CONGRATULATIONS WILLIE!!!!!! 500 WINS AND COUNTING! 🐐🔥🐅 pic.twitter.com/l3SFLu339p
— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) January 11, 2025
WHL ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACHES, REGULAR SEASON:
Don Hay – 752
Ken Hodge – 742
Don Nachbaur* – 707
Lorne Molleken – 626
Marc Habscheid – 582
Shaun Clouston* – 578
Mike Williamson – 572
Ernie McLean – 548
Mike Johnston – 545
Brent Sutter – 526
Pat Ginnell – 518
Willie Desjardins* – 500
* = active
