Nick Luukko resigned Saturday after three years at the helm of the Jacksonville Icemen to take a position in the American Hockey League, leaving the ECHL hockey club in search of the third coach in team history.
Luukko, 32, left to take an assistant coach position in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He had coached the Icemen since his hiring on Aug. 10, 2021 and received a contract extension in June 2022.
With the Icemen, Luukko led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances in the South Division, generally regarded as the most competitive of the league's four divisions, although the team had yet to progress beyond the second round.
He compiled a 126-73-12-5 record during his Jacksonville tenure, topping the 40-win mark in each season. Luukko and Jason Christie, who steered the Icemen from 2017 to 2021 before moving to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, are the only coaches in team history.
"We are so proud and extremely happy for Nick’s new opportunity in the AHL, and we want to thank him for his commitment, effort and service to the team,” Icemen chief executive officer Andy Kaufmann said in a statement. “Nick elevated Icemen Hockey to new heights, bringing a culture to the team that resulted in three consecutive seasons of at least 40 wins, while propelling Jacksonville as a destination place for players in the ECHL. We look forward to seeing Nick find success at the next level and beyond.”
Why did Nick Luukko leave the Icemen?
The move to the AHL represents a step up in the hockey ladder, although he is vacating a head coaching job for an assistant post. With the move, Luukko now has a chance to work at the second-highest level in North American professional hockey, one step below the NHL, while the ECHL represents the third level.
"Starting my head coaching career in Jacksonville has been nothing short of amazing,” Luukko said in a statement. “I want to thank Andy Kaufmann and the entire organization for an unbelievable three years. It’s been an absolute privilege working for the Jacksonville Icemen."
During his Icemen tenure, Luukko was noted for building one of the ECHL's most successful defensive units. Jacksonville allowed the second-fewest goals in the 28-team league during 2023-24.
At Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Luukko will reunite with Kirk MacDonald, the head coach who first hired him as an assistant with the ECHL's Reading Royals in 2019.
In addition, the move also represents a return closer to home turf. The Pennsylvania native previously spent his professional playing career in the state from 2014 to 2019 with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Reading Royals.
Who will replace Nick Luukko?
The Icemen's front office, including Kaufmann and president Bob Ohrablo, will have a short time window to decide on their next step after the coaching change. The club announced that the move will take place "soon" but did not specify a timetable.
In three years, Luukko earned a reputation for solid defensive organization, and led the club to a league award for the hockey operations department of the year in 2022-23.
The main challenge for Luukko's successor: finding a way past the Florida Everblades in postseason. The Estero-based team, winner of the last three Kelly Cups, has frustrated Jacksonville time and again during April and May, including this year's fight from behind to eliminate the Icemen in seven games.
Nick Luukko's coaching record
Luukko guided Jacksonville to the playoffs with above-.500 records in each of his seasons, advancing to the second phase in his first two years.
2021-22: 40-27-3-2 (second-round playoffs)
2022-23: 44-23-3-2 (second-round playoffs)
2023-24: 42-23-6-1 (first-round playoffs)
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