Don Hay becomes the winningest coach in WHL history

The Kamloops Blazers beat the Portland Winterhawks 4-2 on Saturday and it was a major milestone for head coach Don Hay.

The win was Hay’s 743rd in the WHL, passing Ken Hodge’s previous benchmark of 742 wins to make him the winningest coach in league history.

With 743 career victories, Don Hay is the winningest coach in Western Hockey League history!

DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/fpiJ4a8iZt pic.twitter.com/SaqA42Gild

— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 28, 2018

“On behalf of the WHL and our member clubs, I would like to extend our congratulations to Don Hay on becoming the winningest coach in WHL history,” said Ron Robison, commissioner of the WHL.

“Setting a record of this kind is not only a remarkable achievement but serves to highlight what an incredible career Don has had to this point and the success his teams have enjoyed under his leadership.”

Hay has spent seven seasons behind the Blazers bench, spread over two stints (1992-1995 and 2014-present) with his hometown team.

The rest of his 19 year WHL head coach career has been spent with the Tri-City Americans (1998-2000) and the Vancouver Giants (2004-2014).

The 63-year-old was behind the bench for both of Kamloops’ Memorial Cup victories in the mid-90s and added a third Memorial Cup with Vancouver in 2007.

He won his only Dunc McCallun Memorial Trophy as WHL Coach of the Year during the 2008-09 WHL season, leading the Giants to a 57-10-2-3 record.

Hay has also seen significant success at the international level, coaching Canada to gold medal victories at the 1995 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2013 IIHF U-18 World Championship.

To celebrate his incredible accomplishment on Saturday night, the WHL named Hay its first, second and third star of the evening, highlighting his storied career in the process.