June 18, 2023
Todd Reid, the Trenton Golden Hawks Interim General Manager has announced his successor.
“We are thrilled to welcome Derek Smith. He will be taking on the role of Head Coach and General Manager effective immediately,” says Reid.
Reid continued, “Derek’s experience both as a player and coach will help get the most out of our players. He also lives in the Quinte region, which means he will see local players early in their development. That fits with our strategy in growing the Trenton Golden Hawks Junior A Hockey Club.”
The 38-year-old Smith is a Quinte area resident, a graduate of the Quinte Red Devils AAA program and played professional hockey for nine seasons. His career included time in the KHL in Russia, the NLA in Switzerland, the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League. In the NHL, Smith played 94 games between the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators. In 2010-11, Smith was part of the AHL Calder Cup winning Binghamton Senators.
Smith began coaching in the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2017-18 and was in the role with the Wellington Dukes for two years, followed by two years as Head Coach. He added the General Manager title 2022-23.
Smith says, “My time in Wellington was incredible. The fans, the volunteers, and the players were all tremendous. To ownership there, thank you for giving me an opportunity. I will remember my time there forever.”
“I am very excited to be joining another tremendous hockey program in Trenton. The Hawks history of winning is one of the best in Canadian junior hockey. We have every intention of continuing that tradition with a great core of players returning. Interim General Manager Todd Reid went right to work and brought in several strong players that are going to make us even better.”
“We will have two major priorities. The first is winning. The second is to have a strong development program, bringing in the best local players and helping them get to the next level in hockey and education. We believe these two priorities can go hand and hand.”
Todd Reid will remain with the Golden Hawks, sliding into the role of Director of Hockey Operations. “I am really looking forward to working towards the season ahead. We have great players returning, new pieces coming in, and the support of the best fans in Canada. The 2023-24 season is going to be exciting.” Reid continued, “We will be naming more pieces of our hockey operations team in the coming weeks. We will strive to create the best team on the ice as well.”
Reid is a Stirling-Rawdon native and played his hockey at the OJHL level and university hockey at Guelph. He was an Associate Coach with the Trenton Golden Hawks in 2017-18. He has also served as an Associate Coach at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, the Quinte Red Devils AAA program, and the Wellington Dukes. He most recently served as General Manager of the Cobourg Cougars.
Shawn Hicks represents the Trenton Golden Hawks Ownership team. “The recent moves made by the Trenton Golden Hawks will serve the players, sponsors and fans very well for the foreseeable future! I am honoured to call Derek Smith our Coach and GM. Todd Reid is the perfect fit as the Director of Hockey Operations. He has tons of experience in amateur hockey at all levels. The remainder of his hockey operations team will be named in the coming weeks. This is going to be a lot of fun!”
