Forever a leader, Shawn Horcoff continues to rise in Red Wings’ front office
Facing the realities of retirement can be tough. Oftentimes, it can begin a very confusing and volatile period in one’s life as they leave behind their career.
It isn’t often that the transition can be as seamless and go as smoothly as it did for Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff. After playing in parts of 15 NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks, Horcoff retired from professional hockey in 2016. He immediately jumped on board with the Red Wings as part of their player development staff. Already living in Michigan in the offseason, Horcoff connected with now-fellow Detroit assistant GM Kris Draper, who presented him with the opportunity.
“I didn’t really even know what the player development role was – as a player you’d wonder what all those guys did up there,” Horcoff told Daily Faceoff. “I had a talk with my agent about it, weighed the pros and cons, do I try to play again or step into a management role? I grew up loving the Wings, the people that were there – Ken Holland was GM at the time who I had my first meeting with. He told me he thought the player development role would be perfect for me.
“That was the start of it for me.”
Horcoff had the opportunity to keep playing beyond 2016 but felt like, primarily for family reasons due to all the travel, the opportunity to work locally with the Red Wings was the best path. Finishing up his career with the Ducks in the 2015-16 season, Horcoff first had a meeting with Draper, Holland and now-New York Rangers assistant GM Ryan Martin in mid-July in the summer of 2016.
“They asked me my [take] on what player development was; we spoke for a couple of hours just talking hockey,” said Horcoff. “I told them it was a role I would be interested in; they told me they had other candidates, so I kept training (in case I kept playing), I had teams still calling and opportunities to play. In late August there were still some teams kicking around, and then Ken called to offer me the job.”
Being able to stay put in Michigan and not having to move his family made the transition seamless for Horcoff. With his kids enrolled in school and having extended family in Michigan, the opportunity turned out to be a great one for Horcoff after the final years of his playing career being spent in Dallas and Anaheim.
His role in Detroit has since elevated quite significantly since starting out in player development, as Horcoff now not only holds the title of assistant GM with the Red Wings but also the GM of the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. The elevation of Horcoff was fast tracked after Holland moved on to the Oilers and was succeeded by Steve Yzerman
“I run the team in Grand Rapids, working closely with the coaching and development staff and making sure our plan in Detroit is being executed down there,” Horcoff said. “Secondly, I work closely with Steve on the professional side. I watch a lot of pro hockey and have a big player personnel role.”
Many players will take the route of coaching in their post-playing career. In the ever growing/evolving media world, many elect to become on-air analysts, as well. Media was never something Horcoff considered – he wanted to stay involved with the game. He had thought about coaching in the past, but the first opportunity was in player development which he really enjoyed. Not knowing exactly what management entailed when he first got in, being part of a front office allowed Horcoff to still have intimate ties to hockey.
“I loved being on the ice with the guys in player development, it was a great transition,” Horcoff said. “As a player all you know is the locker room, it’s all I’ve known my whole life and all of the sudden it’s gone. Being around a professional locker room was great for the transition in that regard.”
In addition to being one of the faces of the Oilers during the 2000s, Horcoff served as the team’s captain from 2010 until he left as a free agent in 2013. Having the experience of leading a locker room and helping along younger players has aided Horcoff in his two roles with the Red Wings’ organization.
“It has helped massively; leadership in any role in management in any industry is probably the first and foremost thing you’re relied upon for,” Horcoff said. “When it came to player development, I had already kind of been doing my last two or three seasons as a player being around younger players as the older guy to help impact them. Before I left Edmonton we drafted a lot of top draft picks in Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle – the list goes on. In Dallas I was around Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin who were the younger guys. I was able to share my experiences with these guys and do the same thing after transitioning to player development.
“What was fortunate for me is that I played all forward positions – from fourth line left wing to first-line center, to power play and all special teams. There wasn’t a position or role that I wasn’t comfortable talking about with a younger player. You’re there as a soundboard for these younger guys and help them learn what it takes to stay in the league.”
Horcoff was initially hired by Holland and Draper but has now worked directly under Yzerman since 2019. Yzerman is heavily regarded as one of the most respected executives in the NHL, especially following his contributions to building the Tampa Bay Lightning championship teams and being the mastermind behind the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Gold medals for Team Canada. Working under someone like Yzerman has been invaluable for Horcoff’s post-playing career.
“I have won the lottery as a young person coming into management: working under Ken Holland to start and then transitioning to Steve Yzerman,” said Horcoff. “They’re both very different. Ken brought me in and allowed me in on all facets of management which helped me learn. When Steve and Pat (Verbeek) came in, my role grew and I became more involved in player personnel decisions, sat in on arbitration hearings, contract negotiations. I kept getting exposed to what it took to be a part of management watching guys like Steve and Pat who were so comfortable doing it very well at a high level.
“There’s no education you can pay for that – to be around people who do it at such a high level and to be able to sit back and watch.”
The Red Wings have been in the midst of a rebuild for the last seven seasons or so; it was really spearheaded by Yzerman when he took over in 2019 as GM from Holland. It has been unchartered waters for Detroit after a quarter of a century of playoff berths and being the one of the league’s pillars from the late 1990s until the 2010s when they won four Stanley Cups. The Red Wings have been knocking on the door of getting back into the playoffs for the last two seasons but have been unable to get over that final hurdle to this point.
Things seem close for the Red Wings to finally get back to where they want to be, but there is still some work ahead. Horcoff joined the Red Wings entering the final season of their 25-year playoff streak, which has allowed him to see both the eras and live through the transition.
“Patience, I think we’re close and we’ve been right there the past few seasons,” said Horcoff. “We haven’t found a way to get over that hump in the final 15 games or so. A lot of it has to do with being young and inexperienced; we are starting to get some of our high draft picks turn pro. We have players in Grand Rapids and in Europe looking to make that push (for the NHL). Steve has been very open about being patient and committing to drafting and developing our players.
“We continue to rely on our young players. We have some good pieces in place and some good pieces coming.”
After his years rising through the ranks in Detroit, it is fair to speculate if Horcoff could eventually become a GM one day. We have seen this with the likes of Danny Briere with the Philadelphia Flyers and Craig Conroy with the Calgary Flames in recent years; Alex Steen has already been named as the successor to Doug Armstrong with the St. Louis Blues.
When asked if being a GM down the line was something he was thinking about, Horcoff affirmed his only focus for the time being are his current roles and responsibilities with the Red Wings and in Grand Rapids.
The last decade has been a steady climb in management for Horcoff, and his consistent role elevations have almost been linear. His seamless transition from professional hockey into management has been the poster-child for any player looking to follow a similar path. Being a GM may not be on his radar right now, but it is hard not to envision Horcoff’s career ending up there down the line – especially if he is a main contributor to the engine being reignited in the Motor City.
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