Moving on

John Druce steps down, Derek Smith steps in

The Wellington Dukes have announced that head coach John Druce is stepping down and assistant coach Derek Smith will step into the role as leader behind the bench.

Both Druce and Smith joined the Dukes organization in early 2018 after Scott Mc- Crory was relieved of his head coaching position. Druce said he is looking forward to what the future brings. “I am going to explore other opportunities in the hockey world and have decided to step down as the coach of the Wellington Dukes,” said Druce. “I want to thank Ken Clement, Michael Mulvihill, the hockey operations staff, players, fans and the rest of the Dukes family for my time in Wellington. Wellington is an amazing place to be a part of. Players get to better themselves as people and players in a winning atmosphere. I wish everyone the best of luck.”

Three years ago, John Druce led the Cobourg Cougars to a national championship. It was his first year as a head coach. The Cougars were hosts of the RBC Cup that year, but it was still a shock when Druce and the Cougars parted ways early in the following season. The Wellington Dukes snapped him up. Druce led the 2018 squad to a Buckland Cup Championship, a Dudley Hewitt Championship and to the finals of the national championship in Chilliwack, B.C. A remarkable, and unlikely, achievement. In 2019, he mentored a team with just five returning players, a mediocre regular season, and the loss of his number one netminder, into the OJHL finals.

Randy Uens, Wellington Dukes VP of Hockey Operations said Druce was fantastic at shaping young players into not only great players, but better people. “We want to thank John Druce for his leadership, class, and passion for developing players. John is one of the best people you could ever meet in the game of hockey. He truly wants to help young players become better people. He understands the value of a group of players working together towards a common goal. We wish him the best of luck in his future in hockey.”

Derek Smith is a Belleville native and played 123 games over four seasons for the Dukes in the early 2000s. Smith was a member of the 2002 team that won the Buckland and Dudley Hewitt Cups that led to an appearance at the 2003 Royal Bank Cup Championship in Charlottetown, PEI. Smith played 94 games in the NHL as a member of the Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames.