Don Waddell

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Don Waddell

Born	(1958-08-19) August 19, 1958 Detroit, MI, USA
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Defenseman
Played for	New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) Flint Spirits (IHL) Toledo Goaldiggers (IHL) Flint Generals (IHL) Augsburger EV (Germany) Saginaw Gears (IHL) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) Houston Apollos (CHL Tulsa Oilers (CHL)
NHL Draft	111th overall, 1978 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1980–1988

Donald Waddell (born August 19, 1958 in Detroit, Michigan) is the former, and last President of the Atlanta Thrashers and a former ice hockey defenseman. He is currently a professional scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[1]

Playing career

Waddell was selected 111th overall, in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He was selected as the 3rd choice of the Los Angeles Kings on June 15, 1978. He played in the NHL for only one game with the Kings during the 1980–81 season, against the New York Rangers on January 28, 1981.

His playing career consisted mostly of minor and college hockey. He played 4 seasons at Northern Michigan University. He was one of the final cuts for the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team after he broke his leg in a pre-tournament game. He won the International Hockey League's Governor's Trophy in 1982 for best defenseman during the regular season.

Coaching career

After his tenure as a player, he moved to coaching. For the 1987–88 season with the IHL Flint Spirits as a player-coach. For the next two seasons, he moved behind the bench permanently. Waddell moved on to the IHL San Diego Gulls for the 1991–92 season. Waddell took over as interim coach of the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2002–03 season with a record of 4–5–1–0 as coach before Bob Hartley was named to the permanent job.

After a disappointing start (0–6–0) to the 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers season, Waddell was named interim head coach of the team following the dismissal of Bob Hartley.^[2] For several months, he was able to lead the team on a turn around, but the Thrashers ultimately played poorly down the stretch and missed the playoffs.

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Division Rank	Result
ATL	2002–03	10	4	5	1	0	(74)	3rd in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
ATL	2007–08	76	34	34	-	8	(76)	4th in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
Total		86	38	39	1	8

Management career

Don Waddell was the assistant GM of the Detroit Red Wings from 1997–98. He won a Stanley Cup championship with the team in the 1998 season. In June 1998, he was named the GM of the newly founded Atlanta Thrashers.

On April 14, 2010, Waddell was made President of the Thrashers, with assistant general manager Rick Dudley taking his place as GM.^[3] Under Waddell, the Thrashers had a total record of 308–401–45–66, and their only playoff appearance was during the 2006–07 season when they were swept in the opening-round series by the New York Rangers 4–0.

Following True North's purchase of the Thrashers, Waddell announced he would not be moving with the team from Atlanta to Winnipeg. On January 21, 2012, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced their hiring of Waddell as a professional scout.^[4]

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-CCHA First Team	1977-78
All-CCHA First Team	1979-80
IHL Governor's Trophy	1981-82

References

↑ http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=612921
↑ Bob McKenzie (2007-10-17). "Thrashers fire head coach Hartley". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
↑
↑ http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=612921

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Mike Liut	CCHA Player of the Year 1977-78 Shared With John Markell	Succeeded by Ken Morrow
Sporting positions
Preceded by Position created	General Manager of the Atlanta Thrashers 1999-2010	Succeeded by Rick Dudley

v t e Atlanta Thrashers general managers

Don Waddell (1998-2010) Rick Dudley (2010-2011)

v t e Atlanta Thrashers head coaches

Curt Fraser (1999-2002) Don Waddell (2002-2003) Bob Hartley (2003-2007) Don Waddell (2007-2008) John Anderson (2008-2010) Craig Ramsay (2010-2011)

Persondata
Name	Waddell%252C Don
Alternative names
Short description	American ice hockey player
Date of birth	August 19, 1958
Place of birth	Detroit, MI, USA
Date of death
Place of death

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