Derek King embracing bizarre role as Anders Sorensen's assistant on Blackhawks' coaching staff
Blackhawks assistant coach Derek King was asleep when his former assistant called to tell him he was now his boss.
For most coaches — for most people in general — the awkwardness of that power dynamic would be difficult to tolerate, the ego blow would be difficult to accept.
But for King, arguably the most ego-less man in the hockey world, it was not difficult. Instead, he and Anders Sorensen carpooled into Chicago the next morning, discussed the new situation and promptly got to work, with Sorensen now the Hawks’ interim coach and King supporting him as an assistant.
“There was no, ‘Are you OK with this?’ or anything,” King said recently. “It was just, ‘I’m happy for you. I’m here to help like you helped me. So let’s do this.’ ”
When King joined the Rockford IceHogs as an assistant in 2016, Sorensen was a player development coach supporting the team’s minuscule coaching staff. When King became Rockford’s head coach in 2018-19, he promoted Sorensen to assistant. And when King became Hawks interim coach in 2021-22, Sorensen was promoted to Rockford head coach.
King’s decision to stay on Luke Richardson’s staff as an assistant starting in 2022 — even though the Hawks picked Richardson instead of him to be the permanent coach — was unusual enough in hockey, albeit a perfect example of King’s lack of ego. This new situation is even more bizarre, but he has yet again handled it in the most easygoing way possible.
“I wasn’t expecting that ‘second chance’ kind of thing,” King said. “I had my chance. Whatever, it didn’t work out. But I was fortunate enough to stay on. For them to rehire me again as an interim, I don’t think that would’ve went over well.”
He’s fully aware that if he wanted another head-coaching job, he would “probably have to go somewhere else.” And that’s simply not something he’s interested in doing.
“I enjoy the organization, and I like what I do,” he said. “Everybody has a niche. I enjoyed the head [coaching] part; it was a great learning experience. But I’m really enjoying this part, too.
“It’s almost bringing me back to the roots of the American League, where you’re [doing] more teaching.”
King’s focus has shifted toward assisting Sorensen’s adjustments to the usual rhythms and challenges of the NHL. They’re different beasts than in the AHL.
King often mentioned in 2021-22 how he felt pulled in many directions at once for interviews, meetings and such. Sorensen said the lack of practice time enabled by the NHL schedule (compared to the AHL’s weekend-focused schedule) has surprised him most so far. The upcoming Winter Classic and all of its surrounding pageantry will add another wrinkle in the coming weeks.
King’s advice for Sorensen: “Be yourself. It’s all you can do. Coach the way you want to coach, and I’ll be here to help you as much as I can.”
“He’s a good friend of mine, so it makes the transition smoother,” Sorensen said. “We spend a lot of time in the summer together, golfing and whatnot. He’s been a big sounding board for me up here, helping me out with little details.”
Sorensen commended King, who primarily works with the Hawks’ forwards, for intuitively knowing “when it’s time to focus up and when to keep it loose.” His equable personality provides some much-needed levity and humor whenever morale dips.
Sorensen, a self-described “black-and-white” guy, might be King’s polar opposite. But they still work together and complement each other just as well as they used to, regardless of the flipped power dynamic.
“In Rockford, we allowed each other to do what we needed to do,” King said. “We took turns, and it was a different voice all the time with the players. I think that’s what he’s looking for now. You can just see the confidence in him.”