Mooseheads bench boss departs for head coaching post with AHL team

The Halifax Mooseheads will have a new face behind the bench for the third time in as many seasons when they open the 2025-26 campaign.

The QMJHL team announced Friday that head coach Andrew Lord is leaving after one season at the helm to become the new bench boss of the AHL's Ontario Reign. Associate coach Brad MacKenzie is being promoted to take his place.

"We want to thank Andrew Lord for his contributions to the Mooseheads and wish him nothing but the best in the future," the team's owner, Sam Simon, said in a news release.

Lord coached the Mooseheads to a 19-35-10 record in 2024-25. The team finished 16th overall in the regular season but upset the defending champion Drummondville Voltigeurs in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before being swept by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the second round.

"It's tough to leave Halifax," Lord said in the release. "I love the city and the fans, and I love what we started to build this past season as a team."

Lord, 40, said his ultimate goal is to coach in the NHL and said the move brings him "one step closer."

The Reign, based in Ontario, Calif., are the top affiliate of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. Lord has previously worked for the Kings organization as head coach of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the team's ECHL affiliate.

MacKenzie, 32, has been with the Mooseheads for four seasons. Originally from Charlottetown, he joined the team as an assistant coach in 2021 and was promoted to the role of associate coach last year.

"Brad was instrumental in shaping the culture, compete, and strong foundation that defined the Mooseheads team this past season," Simon said in the release. "We look forward to seeing Brad build on that."

MacKenzie becomes the 15th head coach in franchise history. He's the team's seventh coach since Dominique Ducharme departed following the 2015-16 season after five years behind the bench.

Lord replaced Jim Midgley, who coached the Mooseheads in 2023-24 in his second stint behind the bench for the team.