Photo credit: RocketFAN

By Regan Bartel

From new guy to top guy

Derrick Martin’s moment begins

Jun 28, 2025 | 6:00 AM

Sometimes, timing is everything.

For Derrick Martin, it might just be perfect.

Last season, Martin joined the Kelowna Rockets as an assistant, his first crack at coaching in the WHL. The idea was he’d dip a toe in, maybe ease into the league, learn the ropes. Instead? He cannonballed straight into the head coaching job.

Now, less than a year (329 days to be exact) after joining the staff, the 40-year-old has been handed the keys to a team that already knows it’ll be playing into next May. Most coaches in junior hockey spend years working their way up. Martin? He skipped the line like he had a FastPass at Disneyland.

His story isn’t just about timing but also about trust — trust from the organization, trust from the players, and trust in his own abilities.

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It’s rare. And it’s happening.

“This announcement will no doubt catch some by surprise,” he admitted during Friday’s news conference. “I will not sit in front of you today and make excuses regarding last season.”

Martin was named interim head coach in January after Kris Mallette was relieved of his duties. The promotion came quickly, especially by Rockets standards.

Mallette spent six seasons as an assistant before taking over the bench. Before him, Dan Lambert logged five seasons in the same role before becoming head coach in 2014–15, with Mallette alongside him as a first-year assistant.

Martin? He had barely found his parking spot.

After just a few months as an assistant, he was suddenly in charge, a rapid rise that’s rare in junior hockey, especially in a program known for grooming its coaches over time. But sometimes, timing lines up just right. And when it does, even the usual script gets tossed out.

“When we hired him, we knew we were getting a young guy that was just getting his feet wet, and we literally threw him right into the ocean last year when we put him in position to be the head coach,” said Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton. “I have zero concern with him being the head coach, I just wanted to ensure we, Curtis and I, wanted to make sure we were surrounding him with quality people to help him and make him a better coach.”

And that’s the rub. Bruce Hamilton knows he’s got a solid coach in Martin, so why not let him take the reins with veteran Don Hay nearby to offer steady guidance? Hay won’t get in the way but will provide the kind of mentorship that pushes Martin to get better. It’s the kind of balance that looks great on paper: Martin leads the team, Hay keeps things steady, and Hamilton can cross his fingers that he won’t need to hire another coach in three years.

“Derrick is a good young coach,” Hay told RocketFAN. “A lot of people helped me along the way, and so it is a good time for me to help other people, and to be a mentor type of coach. I know how important it is to have someone to lean on and bounce things off of, and so a lot of those things were appealing to me.”

As for Martin, loyal as ever, he could easily stick around for the long haul unless the pro game comes calling.

“I’m really excited to start this year with a clean slate and a new standard,” added Martin.

The Rockets’ confidence in Martin isn’t just based on his rapid rise, but also on the strong relationships he’s built with the players. In a league full of young talent, having a coach who understands their mindset, pressures, and goals is invaluable. That connection has earned Martin respect in the locker room and has helped foster a positive environment during a critical time of transition for the team.

“In the exit meetings, the players were very complimentary of the job Derrick did,” Hamilton added. “The important part is that he’s young, and with today’s athletes, you need someone who can relate to them, both in age and as a parent himself.”

Let it be clear, the Rockets see a bright coaching star in the making. Now, they’re eager to watch him shine during one of the biggest seasons in franchise history.