Derek Damon

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders Welcome WHL Standout, Re-Sign Defensive Staple

The Iowa Heartlanders got their Tuesday started quickly when they announced the signing of WHL Forward Jack O’Brien and the re-signing of hard-working defender Chris Lipe. Lipe is familiar with the Lander way, playing 74 games with the team since being signed in March 2023. As a pure defender, Lipe’s contributions of just nine points […]

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders Re-Sign Defender, Welcome Latvian International

Coralville, Iowa- On Friday, July 19, the Iowa Heartlanders made significant boosts to their defensive strength in the re-signing of defensive staple Louka Henault and welcoming Latvia’s Bogdans Hodass to the squad. Head Coach and General Manager Derek Damon has made some interesting and exciting decisions in his first ten signings, and these defensively-minded decisions […]

ECHL: “Scariest Man in Hockey” set to return to the Heartlanders

Coralville, Iowa- On July 11, the Forward Nico Blachman and the Iowa Heartlanders agreed to a contract renewal. The 26-year-old Enforcer from Florida is representing his eighth ECHL team with the Iowa Heartlanders, previously a member of Florida, South Carolina, Allen, Savannah, and Norfolk from 2020-2023 and Kalamazoo and Adirondack before joining Iowa in 2023-24. […]

ECHL: Heartlanders Give Qualifying Offers to Goaltending Duo, Six More

Coralville, Iowa- On July 7, ECHL teams had to make their eight qualifying offers. This allows teams to re-sign choice players and further protect the rights of players on ECHL contracts from the previous season. Iowa has tendered the following offers: Goaltender (2): Drew DeRidder, Peyton Jones Defensemen (3): Ben Brinkman, Louka Henault, Hunter Lellig […]

Jonny Sorenson Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks Iowa Heartlanders

ECHL: Two Forwards Re-Sign with Iowa

Coralville, Iowa- On July 3, the Iowa Heartlanders announced that they are bringing back forwards Will Calverley and Jonny Sorenson. Calverley, 25, and Sorenson, 24, were both brought in for the 2023-24 season, with Calverley being an offseason acquisition from the Florida Everblades after his Kelly Cup win and Sorenson being signed from the University […]

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders Hire Key Assistant, Announce Season-Ending Roster

Coralville, Iowa- On June 18th, Derek Damon made his first new hiring since having his coaching staff poached. His associate, Joe Exter, was poached by a junior hockey club, and training staff got promoted to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Kevin Schmidt will complete the coaching staff, joining Damon and Video Coach Eric Michaud as the […]

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders 2023-24 Season in Review

As the Florida Everblades clinch their third consecutive Kelly Cup, it is time to review the Iowa Heartlanders 2023-24 Season. I suggested in November that this may be the season where Iowa made their first playoffs. This was not what was written in the stars for Derek Damon’s crew. Iowa finished the season with 27 […]

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders Key Assistant Leaves for NAHL Job

St. Cloud, Minnesota—On May 13th, the St. Cloud Norsemen of the NAHL announced that Joe Exter will be taking over as head coach and general manager of their team, effective immediately. With this, the Iowa Heartlanders’ search for a new associate head coach and assistant will begin immediately. The NAHL is a US-based junior hockey […]

Analyzing the Iowa Heartlanders’ decision to extend Derek Damon’s Contract

On Saturday, May 10th, the Iowa Heartlanders announced that Head Coach and General Manager Derek Damon has signed a multi-year extension. Damon’s previous two seasons in the Heartland did not inspire fans. Iowa went a combined 49-73-19-3 and was unable to get out of the cellar of the Central Division. However, not all of this […]

ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders Extend Head Coach and GM

The Iowa Heartlanders have announced that they have signed Head Coach and General Manager Derek Damon to a multi-year extension. Damon has been with the Heartlanders since their inaugural season, where he was an assistant coach and would be promoted to Head Coach after Gerry Fleming would head to Germany to coach after the teams’ […]