Peter Russell (ice hockey)

Last updated

Peter Russell
Born (1974-06-20) 20 June 1974 (age 50)
Ayr, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Ayr Raiders
Medway Bears
Dumfries Vikings
Blackburn Hawks
Slough Jets
Paisley Pirates
Castlereagh Knights
Nottingham Panthers
National teamFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Playing career 19901998

Peter Russell (born 20 June 1974) is a Scottish ice hockey coach and former goaltender. He is currently the head coach of both the Cardiff Devils in the UK's EIHL and the Great Britain men's national ice hockey team. He is the most successful coach in GB history at both senior and junior level, with 11 medals including six gold medals.

Contents

Professional career

Playing career

Russell made his debut with the Ayr Raiders during 1990 in the British Hockey League. In 1992, Pete moved to British Division 1, the country's then-second-tier league, playing for the Medway Bears, Dumfries Vikings, Blackburn Hawks, Slough Jets and the Paisley Pirates. In 1996, Russell played for the Castlereagh Knights followed by a second spell with the Paisley Pirates again. He then played one game for the Nottingham Panthers in the British Ice Hockey Superleague before retiring at the age of 24.

Coaching career

Russell debuted as Head Coach with the Paisley Cherokees in the 2002–03 season in the Scotland U19 league, before moving to the Cardiff Devils as Director of Player Development. In the 2006–07 season he was made Head Coach of the English Premier League team, the Swindon Wildcats. He had spells with other Premier League teams the Bracknell Bees and Slough Jets, before returning to Swindon as Assistant Coach of the Premier League team and Head Coach of the Okanagan Hockey Academy based in Swindon.

On 22 April 2015, Russell was announced as the head coach of the Milton Keynes Lightning for the 2015–16 season, replacing the previous long-term coach, Nick Poole. He led them to memorable playoff and cup doubles in the 2016–17 season, before leading them in their inaugural season in the Elite League. In February 2018, the Lightning announced that Russell would leave the team at the end of the season. [1]

On 8 April 2018, Russell was announced as head coach of the Glasgow Clan, replacing John Tripp. [2]

Between 2003 and 2015, he led GB's junior sides to seven medals at World Championship tournaments, including four gold medals. Since taking over for Great Britain Men in 2014–15, Russell led GB to two successive silver medals at the World Championship Division I Group B in his first two seasons in charge of the national team. In 2017, he won gold on home ice and promotion to the second tier. [3]

In 2018, he led GB to a memorable gold in Hungary in the World Championship Division I Group A to secure a top-flight World Championship place for 2019. [4] Russell then led Great Britain to a dramatic overtime victory over France at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, which preserved their top-flight status. [5] GB retained their top-level status until relegation in 2022. [6]

In May 2019, it was announced that Russell had left the Glasgow Clan, and would be joining EHC Freiburg in the DEL2, taking over from Jan Melichar. [7]

In March 2021, it was announced that Russell would leave Freiburg at the end of the current campaign and take over at fellow DEL2 side Ravensburg Towerstars ahead of the 2021–22 season. [8]

In April 2022, after leading Ravensburg to the DEL2 play-offs, Russell was named the new head coach at DEL side Augsburger Panthers for the 2022–23 season. [9] However, in December 2022, Augsburger and Russell parted company. [10]

In January 2023, Russell returned to Ravensburg Towerstars for a second spell as head coach. [11]

On 12 May 2023, the Elite Ice Hockey League team Cardiff Devils announced that Russell had signed an initial two-year deal as head coach of the team. [12]

Honours and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsche Eishockey Liga</span> Premier mens ice hockey league in Germany

The Deutsche Eishockey Liga or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in 1994, it was formed as a replacement for the Eishockey-Bundesliga and became the new top-tier league in Germany as a result. Unlike the old Bundesliga, the DEL is not under the administration of the German Ice Hockey Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Mancari</span> Canadian ice hockey right winger

Mark Mancari is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Mancari was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the seventh round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Söderholm</span> Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Toni Kristian Söderholm is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a retired ice hockey defenceman. He is the head coach of the German men's national team.

Paul Dixon is a former ice hockey defenceman and player-coach from Sunderland, England. He is currently the head coach for the Guildford Flames of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the top-tier of hockey in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Chernomaz</span> Canadian ice hockey coach and executive (born 1963)

Richard Chernomaz is a Canadian ice hockey coach and executive as well as former ice hockey right winger. He was most recently the head coach of the VIU Mariners Hockey team in the BCIHL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Stewart (ice hockey)</span> Canadian-Austrian ice hockey player

Michael Stewart is a Canadian-Austrian former professional ice hockey defenceman who has become a coach after his playing days. He was drafted in the first round, thirteenth overall, of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, but never played a game in the NHL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleg Znarok</span> Latvian ice hockey player

Oleg Valerievich Znarok is a Soviet-Latvian professional ice hockey player. In 2022, he was the head coach of Ak Bars Kazan in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and consultant of the Russia men's national ice hockey team.

Jeffrey Szwez is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey right winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Endras</span> German ice hockey player (born 1985)

Dennis Endras is a German professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Seifert</span> German ice hockey player

Patrick Seifert is a German professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Ravensburg Towerstars of the DEL2. He most recently played for Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravensburg Towerstars</span> Ice hockey team in Ravensburg, Germany

The Ravensburg Towerstars, also known as EV Ravensburg, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ravensburg, Germany, and one of the oldest clubs in the country. They currently play in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany.

Brian Roloff is an American professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for the Ravensburg Towerstars of the German DEL2 league.

Leo, Gerry and Myles Fitzgerald are Canadian former child actors, currently involved in ice hockey, best known for their joint roles as Sylvester (Sly) and Whit in the 1999 film Baby Geniuses. They also appeared in the sequel, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, in 2004.

James Bettauer is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Ravensburg Towerstars in the German DEL2. Bettauer was previously with the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DEL2</span> German ice hockey league

DEL2 is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and ahead of the Oberliga. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct 2nd Bundesliga, DEL2 is administered by ESBG, under licence from DEB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Naud</span> Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Daniel "Danny" Naud is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and a former professional player. He is currently serving as sporting director of the Bietigheim Steelers in Germany.

Tim Kehler is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. He most recently served as head coach of the Ravensburg Towerstars in Germany.

Evan Mosey is a British-American ice hockey player for UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) side Cardiff Devils and the British national team.

The 2018–19 DEL2 season was the sixth season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The season ran from 14 September 2018 till 28 April 2019. Löwen Frankfurt was crowned league premiers by finishing top of the regular season standings. Ravensburg Towerstars caused an upset by claiming the championship title by defeating Löwen Frankfurt 4-2 in the final series. Promoted team, Deggendorfer SC, was unable to survive in DEL2 and was relegated after losing the relegation playoffs final 3-4 against Wölfe Freiburg.

The 2016–17 DEL2 season was the fourth season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The season ran from 10 September 2016 till 25 April 2017. Bietigheim Steelers was crowned league premiers by finishing top of the regular season standings. Löwen Frankfurt claimed the championship title by defeating Bietigheim Steelers 4–2 in the final series. Starbulls Rosenheim lost the relegation playoffs 2–4 against ETC Crimmitschau and were relegated from DEL2 to Oberliga.

References

  1. Lightning to part company with coach Pete Russell at the end of the season
  2. Elite League ice hockey: GB head coach Peter Russell takes charge of Braehead Clan
  3. Team GB seal gold medal in Belfast with win over Japan
  4. Great Britain return to elite level after victory over Hungary
  5. "Britain stay up after overtime win". BBC Sport.
  6. "World Championship: Austria 5-3 Gb – Ihuk".
  7. "Peter Russell wird neuer Trainer des EHC Freiburg" (in German). 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. "Russell set for Towerstars". 2 March 2021.
  9. "Russell Named Head Coach of Augsburg Panthers – Ihuk".
  10. "Panther trennen sich von Trainer Peter Russell - News - Augsburger Panther".
  11. "Peter Russell Kehrt an die Towerstars Bande Zurück". 12 January 2023.
  12. "DEVILS CONFIRM PETE RUSSELL AS NEW HEAD COACH". www.cardiffdevils.com. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
Preceded by Milton Keynes Lightning Head Coach
2015-2016
Succeeded by
Current Incumbent