CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Dallas Drake leaned against a wall inside the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon and let out a brief laugh about his first entry into coaching youth hockey following a 15-year NHL career.

“I’ll be the first to admit, when I retired, I started coaching a little squirt team and I was so frustrated because I couldn't figure out why a kid couldn’t fire a backwards saucer pass,” Drake recalled. “I’m like, “Why can't you do that?

“I learned probably the wrong way, but I'm really happy that I have evolved into a youth hockey coach. It's 100% worth your time because you're giving back to kids and communities and families. You can help in more ways than just hockey side of it. Hockey gives you a lot of really good life lessons and I have learned a lot from coaching.”

Since retiring as a player in 2008, Drake has worked in various coaching capacities and levels of hockey, including at the junior level in the NAHL. Most recently, the 2008 Stanley Cup champion has been a coach for the Arizona Jr. Coyotes for the last three years.

Drake’s Jr. Coyotes Tier I 18U team is competing this week at the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 18U National Championship, and the 56-year-old is one of three former NHL players who are serving as head coaches this week in Cranberry Township, Pa. Jeff Brown is coach of the St. Louis Blues Tier I 18U program and Peter LeBoutillier is leading Team Maryland.

Drake has been proud of the Jr. Coyotes commitment to hockey in the desert and their march to nationals this season. Eleven of the Jr. Coyotes 19 18U players in Pennsylvania are from Arizona, including NAHL tendered players Brady Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Drew Smith (Flagstaff, Ariz.)

“Our teams can compete with anybody,” Drake said. “Some people may not realize it, but we got a lot of wicked players that are coming down the pipeline and you’ll see a lot more kids in the future. It's paying off really well right now, even our younger age groups. You look at some of the kids, they're really good, and in the last few years we’ve pushed some kids into the junior leagues and increased our level to where our kids are getting drafted, so we are heading in the right direction.”

Current NHL players such Mark Kastelic, Matthew Knies and Josh Doan also spent a portion of their respective youth hockey days playing in the Jr. Coyotes program, only heightening the organization’s reputation locally.

Drake played four seasons for the Arizona Coyotes alongside Josh’s father, Shane – the Coyotes all-time goals (402), assists (570), and points (972) recordholder – and Drake admits that it was disappointing to see the NHL franchise leave the desert last year.  

However, Drake is proud of the effort of all those affiliated with youth hockey in Arizona and is confident in its future.

“It's disappointing, but a lot of people saw the writing on the wall,” Drake said. “I wish they were still there. It definitely helps. It helps the youth programs even more when they're there, but we don't know what the future holds.

“As far as the Jr. Coyotes programs go, we have a lot of knowledgeable people with a lot of people who are passionate about giving back to the kids. We’ve built a strong enough culture, and our reputation is pretty strong, and we always have pretty good teams.”