Don Jackson (ice hockey)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald Clinton Jackson (born September 2, 1956 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an ice hockey coach and a retired professional ice hockey player who played 315 games in the National Hockey League between 1978 and 1987 and began his coaching career in 1988.
Jackson grew up playing ice hockey in Bloomington, Minnesota for John F. Kennedy High School and earned a scholarship to attend and play for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Prior to graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1978, Jackson was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in the NHL's 1976 Amateur Draft, 3rd round, 39th overall. He played 2 games for the North Stars late in the 1978 season after finishing his college career and spent most of the next 3 seasons playing for the North Stars minor league team, the Oklahoma City Stars. Prior to the 1981–82 NHL season, Jackson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and played most of that season with Edmonton's minor league team, the Wichita Wind. Jackson earned his break at the beginning of the 1982–83 season and played 262 games for the Oilers NHL team, earning Stanley Cup Champion rings in 1984 and 1985. After the 1985–86 season, Jackson was traded to the New York Rangers for his final NHL season before retiring.
He was also a member of the United States Ice Hockey World Cup team at the 1978 and 1979 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments.
Jackson returned to ice hockey in 1989 as the head coach for the Knoxville Cherokees of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). His success with the Cherokees during the 1990–91 earned him recognition as Coach of the Year. In 1991, Jackson was hired by Pierre Page as an Assistant Coach for the Quebec Nordiques, where he served for 3 seasons. He moved on to serve as head coach for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL for the 1994–95 season, the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League for the 1995–96 season and the Kansas City Blades of the IHL for the 1996–97 season. In 1997, Jackson was hired by Kevin Constantine as Assistant Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, serving 3 seasons. Jackson was employed as Assistant Coach by the Chicago Blackhawks for 3 months of the 2000–01 season, and was named Assistant Coach of the Ottawa Senators the following year. Jackson stayed with the Senators until his contract ended without being renewed in 2004.
The 2004–05 NHL Lockout pushed Don to find a coaching role in European ice hockey. Late into the 2004–05 season of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Don was contracted by Pierre Page, then head coach of the Eisbären Berlin to help their defensemen. Berlin's success earned Jackson the Head Coach role in Dusseldorf, Germany with the DEG Metro Stars of the DEL for the seasons 2005–2007. Don moved on to fill the head coach for the Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the German Ice Hockey League.
