TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Head Coach Derek Lalonde is leaving the Toledo Walleye to become the head coach in the American Hockey League.
WTOL 11 first broke the news Saturday, after confirming it with a source.
On Monday, the Iowa Wild introduced Lalonde as the team's fourth head coach in four years during a news conference in Des Moines.
"It is with mixed emotions that I leave Toledo," said Lalonde. "From the first time I visited, Toledo has embraced my family and me. I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish in two years with the support of the Walleye staff, my coaching team, the players, and the incredible Walleye fans."
Lalonde took over as head coach of the Walleye two years ago and led the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference regular season titles. He compiled a 97-35-12 record in his two seasons.
Lalonde was also named the ECHL Coach of the Year during the 2014-2015 season.
"The Walleye organization could not be more proud of the job he has done," said Toledo Walleye General Manager Neil Neukam. "We thank Derek for his passion, his efforts and wish him the very best in what will undoubtedly be a continued successful career."
Toledo Walleye President and CEO Joe Napoli, "Derek Lalonde is a fine coach and an even better person and mentor. We brought Derek in to build great things in Toledo, a culture of success, and he did that. He helped reshape the Walleye program; Iowa is fortunate to have him."
The Walleye will begin the process of reviewing and interviewing coaching candidates immediately.
WTOL 11's Jordan Strack asked Lalonde Tuesday if hearing the words "Former Walleye Coach Derek Lalonde" is weird for him.
"It is, I actually caught myself saying Walleye a couple of times when I was saying the Wild yesterday," said Lalonde. "So, very bittersweet, loved it there, loved my time here, this was very special. You know, just maybe short of a Kelly Cup Championship, I don't know if we could have scripted it any better, the two years here. It will always be a very special spot for me."
When asked what he will look back on most Lalonde said, "The fans, this is tough to replicate. Even at the National Hockey League level, certainly at the American Hockey League level, passionate fans, knowledgeable fans, it's a very unique city, the perfect market probably for hockey. The fact that we've had such a long tradition of hockey, it's a bit of a pretty storm when it comes to the fans. It's very, very unique."
Watch Jordan's full interview with Lalonde in the player above.
As far as who should be his replacement, Lalonde says it should 100 percent be Dan Watson.
And it looks like the Walleye agree.
On Friday, players put in their endorsement for Watson as well.
Watson was an assistant under both Nick Vitucci and Derek Lalonde.
All-time leading scorer in Walleye history, Evan Rankin says he hopes Watson sticks around.
"At first it was a little bit of a sad feeling to know that, you know, the coach that brought a lot of the success here is leaving, but, you know, at the same time we're so happy for him that he's able to continue pursuing his goals because of the success that we've had here," said Rankin. "And Dan Watson, whose been there through everything that we've accomplished here is, you know, in my mind I think he'd be the perfect fit for the way that we want to keep going in our organization."
