About

About Me

Lindsay Hofford is a renaissance man with more than 30 years of experience in the hockey industry. His hockey expertise expands far beyond his playing and legendary coaching careers into the business side of the sport.

Hofford’s first passion was coaching young players and helping them advance into superior leagues. Hofford served as a professional coach in the Ontario, Western, and Canadian Hockey Leagues. Throughout the years, Hofford held numerous coaching positions for varying levels of players before growing his own business.

To this day, Hofford is the Eastern Director of Scouting for the NHL and owner of one of the biggest hockey development companies in the world, Pro Hockey Development.

Lindsay Hofford: Decades of Hockey Coaching

Hofford dedicated years of his career in the hockey industry to helping young players develop their skills, so they could move through the ranks. He founded and served as CEO of Pro Hockey Development in the early 1990s and held the position of Director of Hockey at the Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ontario.

Hofford’s coaching career advanced from youth hockey into the junior ranks for the Ontario Hockey League. He coached at the OHL for three years before moving to Lethbridge, where he coached in the Western Hockey League for another three years.

From 2010 to 2019, Hofford turned his coaching expertise into a scouting career. He served as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the London Knights from 2010 to 2015 and the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2015 to 2019.

Lindsay Hofford coached and won at all levels in the AHL, OHL, CHL, and CJHL levels. He coached or helped draft more than 200 current or former NHL players, including Corey Perry, Mitch Marner, Austin Matthews, Brent Seabrook, and Rick Nash.

Turning Toward Business

Hofford knew he never wanted to leave the hockey industry but didn’t feel destined to coach forever. Hoffman eventually decided to leave coaching and focus on growing his business. At the same time, he became the Director of Scouting for the London Knights. He spent six years as one of the most successful scouts in the league.

Hofford’s scouting expertise eventually caught the eye of the executives at the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL. After just one year of scouting with the Leafs, Hoffman received a promotion to the position of Eastern Director of Scouting. He holds this position to this day.

Education

Before achieving his lofty goals in the hockey industry, Lindsay Hofford led a busy life balancing work, school, and sports. Most of his days began at 5:30 a.m. and involved helping around the family dairy farm. He developed a strong work ethic that he believes contributes to his success in playing hockey, coaching hockey, and his business endeavors.

Hofford attended high school in Wellington, Ontario, then moved to the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He played hockey for the Guelph Gryphons and graduated with a double major in Sociology and Political Science.

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, and attended school there until age 9

Moved to Wellington, Ontario, and attended high school until the age of 18

Moved to Guelph, Ontario to attend the University of Guelph

Just two days after graduating from the University of Guelph, Hofford began a corporate job at a computer company, which eventually led him to move to Toronto. It was in Toronto that he began coaching hockey as a volunteer while serving as the Marketing Representative for an air purification company.

Lindsay Hofford saw immediate success as a coach in Toronto and quickly received promotion after promotion. After a short time, he left the air purification company to start his own company, Pro Hockey Development. He didn’t know that a small volunteer coaching position in Toronto would launch him into a career in hockey.

Now, 26 years later, Pro Hockey Development is one of the largest hockey development companies on the continent.

Family First

Hofford’s love for hockey is unwavering, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the love of his family. He has four children; Callum Hofford, Rachel Hofford, Adam Panacci, and Nicole Panacci. Callum graduated from Salem State University, Rachael graduated from Western University, and Adam Panacci currently played hockey in Bonnyville, Alberta before beginning his university studies. Nicole Panacci attends the University of Guelph, her father’s alma mater.

Callum Hofford was born in 1994 and attended Salem State University

Rachael Hofford was born in 1996 and attended Western University

Adam Panacci was born in 1999 and played hockey at Bonnyville, Alberta

Nicole Panacci was born in 2000 and attended the University of Guelph

Hofford is limitlessly proud of his children and attributes his family-first mentality to his loving parents and childhood. He was the second of three children born to Ian and Catherine Hofford. Lindsay Hofford’s father became a quadriplegic when Hofford was only two years old.

He watched his mother care for his father and work hard to support the family throughout his upbringing. Hofford believes much of his work ethic came from watching his mom do the impossible.

Lindsay Hofford continues to support his loved ones in all of their endeavors while constantly reaching new heights in hockey and business.