Jay Woodcroft appears in his first #StanleyCupPlayoffs game tonight as an #NHL Head Coach, making him the first former Video Coach to do so in league history. #LetsGoOilers | #NHLStats | #NHLCA
Nation Sites
The Nation Network
OilersNation has no direct affiliation to the Edmonton Oilers, Oilers Entertainment Group, NHL, or NHLPA
Jay Woodcroft becomes first former video coach to be head coach in Stanley Cup playoffs history

Photo credit: © Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
By Zach Laing
May 2, 2022, 22:00 EDTUpdated: May 3, 2022, 00:06 EDT
Jay Woodcroft is a trailblazer.
With game one tonight against the LA Kings, the Edmonton Oilers bench boss becomes the first-ever video coach to be a head coach in a playoff game.
Woodcroft, 45, broke into the NHL as a video coach with the Detroit Red Wings in 2005-06 — a role he held for three seasons. There he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007-08.
From here, he spent seven years with the San Jose Sharks as an assistant coach, before joining the Oilers in the same role in 2015. He spent two years with the Oilers before taking over the Bakersfield Condors as a head coach for three and a half seasons.
This year, he was promoted to the interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 10 after the club dismissed Todd McLellan.
Woodcroft has transformed the Oilers under his watch and has truly turned the season around for the Oilers. He’s coached the Oilers to a 26-9-3 record under his watch with a .724 points percentage that ranks third in the league over that time.
Edmonton’s a much deeper team with him behind the bench, largely because of his ability to get the most out of every player.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
Recent articles from Zach Laing
- ‘It was time for something different’: Career consistency drew Stan Bowman, Oilers to Tristan Jarry
- Oilers make pair of trades sending Stuart Skinner, Kulak to Penguins for Tristan Jarry, draft pick to Predators for Spencer Stastney
- Oilers recall Max Jones, place Jake Walman on Long-Term Injured Reserve
Breaking News
- Bowman: Backup Calvin Pickard ‘will remain with the team’ after Skinner-Jarry trade
- ‘It was time for something different’: Career consistency drew Stan Bowman, Oilers to Tristan Jarry
- From ‘can we please get rid of Bowman’ to ‘good trade,’ fans mixed on Oilers’ Skinner for Jarry trade
- Oilers recall Riley Stillman from AHL Condors
- Oilers make pair of trades sending Stuart Skinner, Kulak to Penguins for Tristan Jarry, draft pick to Predators for Spencer Stastney
