After 7 seasons in Cardiff – the last 6 as our Head Coach – Andrew Lord is moving on from the Cardiff Devils.
After 7 seasons in Cardiff – the last 6 as our Head Coach – Andrew Lord is moving on from the Cardiff Devils.
Lord has accepted a head coaching role in North America – and an announcement from that team will follow later today.
He leaves the Devils as the most successful coach in the history of the franchise – winning 3 Conference Titles, 2 Challenge Cups, 2 Elite League Titles and the last 2 Playoff Championships for a total of 9 trophies in 6 seasons.
The 2019/20 season was Lord's 6th season as Head Coach. At the time the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Devils were in first place and were on pace to win their 3rd Elite League title in 4 years.
Lord was hired when the new ownership took over in the summer of 2014 on the advice of former Cardiff Devil, Neil Francis, who recommended Lord be given the chance to coach.
He was initially hired as a player/coach during that first season, but his coaching ability shone through even then. He led that team to the Challenge Cup Final and even scored a goal in the championship game to lift his first title as a coach.
In 6 seasons, he guided his team to 5 Challenge Cup Finals, winning it twice.
In 2017, he led the Devils to their first League title in 20 years, then he repeated the feat the following season winning the League title for the second straight year.
He followed up this success 3 weeks later by leading the Devils to their first Playoff Championship since 1999 – breaking a 19-year-old curse of playoff defeats.
In 2019 – after losing out on the League title on the final day of the season to the Belfast Giants – Lord then led the Devils over the Giants to a second Playoff Championship in a row.
Managing Director Todd Kelman spoke about Lord’s time with the Devils:
“It is hard to put into words the impact that Andrew Lord has had on this organisation.
“He brought a commitment to excellence and dedication to the job that I have never seen before because he loves the game and loves coaching. That carried over into the players and although he was a very demanding coach, he also got the most out of the guys and made them better players and better people.
“I’m going to miss him, we are all going to miss him. He’s a great coach, but more than that he is a great person, a genuine big personality that we all love. He brought a passion every game and it showed in the way he played and the way he coached.”
