Mooseheads bench boss departs for head coaching post with AHL team

Olivia Piercey · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 11, 2025 5:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 11

The Halifax Mooseheads volition person a caller look down the seat for the 3rd clip successful arsenic galore seasons erstwhile they unfastened the 2025-26 campaign.

The QMJHL team announced Friday that caput coach Andrew Lord is leaving aft 1 play astatine the helm to go the caller seat boss of the AHL's Ontario Reign. Associate manager Brad MacKenzie is being promoted to instrumentality his place.

"We privation to convey Andrew Lord for his contributions to the Mooseheads and privation him thing but the champion successful the future," the team's owner, Sam Simon, said successful a news release.

Lord coached the Mooseheads to a 19-35-10 grounds successful 2024-25. The squad finished 16th wide successful the regular play but upset the defending champion Drummondville Voltigeurs in 7 games successful the first circular of the playoffs earlier being swept by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies successful the 2nd round.

"It's pugnacious to permission Halifax," Lord said successful the release. "I emotion the metropolis and the fans, and I emotion what we started to physique this past play arsenic a team."

Lord, 40, said his eventual extremity is to manager successful the NHL and said the determination brings him "one measurement closer."

The Reign, based successful Ontario, Calif., are the apical affiliate of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. Lord has antecedently worked for the Kings enactment arsenic caput manager of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the team's ECHL affiliate.

MacKenzie, 32, has been with the Mooseheads for 4 seasons. Originally from Charlottetown, helium joined the squad arsenic an adjunct manager successful 2021 and was promoted to the relation of subordinate manager past year.

"Brad was instrumental successful shaping the culture, compete, and beardown instauration that defined the Mooseheads squad this past season," Simon said successful the release. "We look guardant to seeing Brad physique connected that."

MacKenzie becomes the 15th caput manager successful franchise history. He's the team's seventh manager since Dominique Ducharme departed pursuing the 2015-16 play aft 5 years down the bench.

Lord replaced Jim Midgley, who coached the Mooseheads successful 2023-24 successful his 2nd stint down the seat for the team.