SUNY Cortland Athletics

Derek Lalonde was a men's ice hockey goalie at Cortland in the early-mid 1990s and is currently the head coach of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings in the latest step of his nearly 30-year coaching career.
 
* The Brasher Falls, N.Y., native earned a bachelor's degree in education from Cortland in 1995 and a master's degree in education with a concentration in administration from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1998
 
* Men's ice hockey goalie at Cortland from 1991-95, recording 988 saves in 41 games played
 
* Cortland's starting goalie as a senior in 1994-95, finishing with 614 saves in 22 games and earning the team's Red Letter Award
 
* His junior season included two victories over perennial SUNYAC power Oswego, and he also defeated Oswego on the road in his senior year
 
* Named the head coach of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings in 2022 and is believed to be the first Cortland graduate to serve as the head coach of a team among North America's four "major" sports leagues (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB)
 
* Served four seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning from 2018-22, including Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021
 
* Spent two seasons as head coach of the Toledo Walleye, the Detroit Red Wings' farm club in the ECHL, from 2014-16, and two years as head coach of the Iowa Wild, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, from 2016-18
 
* Head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2011-14 and led the Gamblers to the league title in his first season
 
* Held Division I assistant positions at Ferris State University from 2002-06 and the University of Denver from 2007-11
 
* Assistant coach at Hamilton College from 2000-02 and Lebanon Valley College from 1998-2000, and a graduate assistant coach at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts from 1995-98; he worked at Lebanon Valley under his former Cortland head coach, Al MacCormack
 
* Involved with numerous charity events throughout his hockey coaching career, including: the Toledo Walleye Feed the Hungry event (serving Thanksgiving meals to people in need); Salvation Army Kettle drives in Green Bay and Toledo; a Ronald McDonald House fundraiser in Green Bay; the Wild About Reading program in Des Moines (promoting importance of literacy and stimulating reading interest among elementary and middle school students); and the Detroit Red Wings' Street Hockey in the D at Home program, which gives Detroit youth an opportunity to learn basics of hockey along with fundamental life skills