Derek MacKenzie

Amateur

MacKenzie began his junior career playing for his hometown Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Following his second season, in which he increased his point production from 20 to 87, he was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the fifth round, 128 overall, in the 1999 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft. In his final season he registered 40 goals and 89 points leading the Wolves in points and finishing sixth in the OHL. He also finished with a face-off winning percent of 67%, winning both the OHL and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Face-off Awards.

Atlanta Thrashers (2001-2007)

Following his final season with Sudbury he joined the Thrashers' farm team the Chicago Wolves. He registered 13 goals and 25 points. He also made his National Hockey League debut for the Thrashers during the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 12, 2002. By season's end the Wolves finished with 86 points and qualified for the playoffs. In the playoffs MacKenzie helped the Wolves win their first Calder Cup championship. Over the next three seasons MacKenzie played mainly with the Wolves helping them back to the Calder Cup finals in 2005. The following season he was named team captain. In the opening minutes of his first home game as captain MacKenzie crashed into the opposing team's net and broke his ankle. He returned later in the season and helped the Wolves to the franchises 500 win. In the game MacKenzie scored his third career hat-trick in the 7–3 victory over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. He finished the season playing 36 games registering 10 goals and 22 points, while the Wolves finished with 86 points and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. MacKenzie spent one more season in the Thrashers system before becoming a free agent. He finished his Thrashers career with 2 assists and 20 penalty minutes (PIMs) in 28 NHL games, and 377 games played, 83 goals, and 184 points for Chicago. He also set a franchise record for shorthanded goals with 21.

Columbus Blue Jackets (2007-2014)

In the off-season he was signed by the Blue Jackets to one-year two-way contract. MacKenzie began the season in the minors playing for Syracuse Crunch. He made his Blue Jackets debut on December 10, 2007 against the Anaheim Ducks, he was reassigned to Syracuse the following day. Later in the season he was again re-called and scored his first career NHL goal against Mike Smith in a game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the end of the year Columbus re-signed MacKenzie to a two-year contract. He continued to split time between Columbus and Syracuse until the 2010–11 season. During his time in Syracuse he set the Crunch team record with 11 career shorthanded goals. He established himself as an NHL regular in 2010–11 and finished the season with career highs in goals (9), assists (14), points (23), and plus-minus rating. His +14 was the highest for a forward and third-highest total in Blue Jackets history. After establishing himself MacKenzie became a fixture on the Blue Jackets fourth line and an integral part of their penalty kill. The following season he spent the entire year with the Blue Jackets. Towards the end of the season MacKenzie suffered a concussion and missed the final 16 games of the season. He finished with 7 goals and 14 points in a career high 66 games while leading the Blue Jackets with a +4 rating. After passing an off-season physical, due to concussion concerns, Columbus re-signed MacKenzie to a two-year deal.

Florida Panthers (2014-present)

On July 1, 2014, MacKenzie left the Blue Jackets organization and signed a three-year free agent contract with the Florida Panthers. On October 9, 2016, he was named the ninth captain in Panthers history.

International play

Internationally MacKenzie represented Canada at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He registered a goal and three points in seven games, the point total tied him for ninth on team Canada. He also won 58.1 percent of his face-offs, the eight highest total in the tournament. In group play Canada went 2–1–1 finishing third in Group B. In the playoff round Canada defeated Team USA 2–1, before losing to Finland in a semi-final game. Following the loss Canada played Sweden in the bronze medal game. Canada defeated Sweden 2–1 earning MacKenzie his lone international medal.

Personal

MacKenzie is married and the couple has two children, a daughter, Reese, and a son, Greyson. His father, Ken MacKenzie, is the assistant general manager of the Sudbury Wolves. Mackenzie is also good friends with Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher, whom he played with in Sudbury.