Coach/GM Derek Damon leaving Iowa Heartlander for job in the United States Hockey League

CEDAR RAPIDS — He made the Iowa Heartlanders relevant on the ice and worked tirelessly to do the same off the ice, but Derek Damon is moving along.

About an hour and a half west, to be specific.

The head coach and general manager of the ECHL hockey club has resigned to take a job as head coach and president of hockey operations of the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers, it was announced Monday afternoon. Both franchises are owned by New York businessman Michael Devlin.

“We get into this business because our ultimate goal is the National Hockey League,” Damon said. “That’s what it is for me. You see an opportunity, get an opportunity like this, and it was something I couldn’t turn down for myself and my family.

“The USHL is a premier league. It’s an opportunity for me to develop kids and get them on to the college scene. They’ve had a lot of success getting kids drafted into the NHL. That’s what NHL teams want to see. They want to see guys that can develop players.”

Damon, 44, was an assistant coach for the Heartlanders in their inaugural season of 2021-22, then took over as head coach the summer of 2022. He led Iowa to the ECHL playoffs this past season for the first time, the club falling to Fort Wayne in a hard-fought seven-game first-round series.

The Maine native never played junior hockey in the USHL. He was a four-year collegiate player at the University of Maine, turned pro and spent two seasons in the ECHL and a few games in the American Hockey League.

He then played 11 seasons in Europe, specifically Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark, before going into coaching.

“Whenever I go to a place, that has always been my goal. To leave it better than when I came,” Damon said. “It’s bittersweet today ... This happened very quickly. My goal was to win a Kelly Cup (ECHL championship) here. We didn’t meet those expectations, but I’m proud of what we accomplished. When we showed up here, we had 70 kids in the Junior Heartlanders (youth) organization, and now we’ve got 155.

“To grow the game in the Corridor ... it means a lot to me. It’s sad to me because this is home, my kids go to school here. I love the organization, love the Heartlanders, am proud to be a Heartlander. But at the end of the day, it’s an opportunity for me to continue to grow and develop.”

Des Moines has a rich history in the USHL that dates to the 1980-81 season. This past season’s team did not qualify for the playoffs, however, finishing seventh out of eight teams in the Western Conference.

The Bucs also were unable to play in their home arena because of an ice-making issue at venerable Buccaneer Arena in Urbandale. They instead played at MidAmerican Energy RecPlex in West Des Moines.

"We're thrilled to welcome Derek to the Bucs," Devlin said in a press release. "He's built an impressive track record with the Heartlanders, and we're excited for him to help our organization grow in this next chapter. His experience as both a player and coach aligns perfectly with our mission to develop players on and off the ice."

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Waterloo Black Hawks, Dubuque Fighting Saints and Sioux City Musketeers are other Iowa clubs in the United States Hockey League.

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