Tom Coolen (born November 20, 1953, in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. He is currently the head coach of Fife Flyers in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), [1] and a former assistant coach for the Polish men's national team.
He is a two time winner of the CIS Coach of the Year award, and a three time AUS Coach of the Year recipient. He built two National Championship teams at Acadia University and 5 AUS champions at Acadia and the University of New Brunswick. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Coolen served as assistant coach to Ted Nolan.
He began his coaching career at the Canadian university level, first as an assistant coach for the UNB Varsity Reds and later as head coach for the Acadia Axemen. [2] He then continued his career coaching in various European leagues, including the German DEL and DEL2, Italian Serie A, Swiss NLA, Austrian EBEL, Danish Metal Ligaen, and Finnish Liiga.
From 2012-2015, he served as an assistant coach for the Latvian national team. [3] From 2014 to 2015, he was also an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres under head coach Ted Nolan. [4]
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along with the Vancouver Canucks, when the league expanded to 14 teams. The Sabres have played their home games at KeyBank Center since 1996, having previously played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium since their inception. The Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula, who purchased the club in 2011 from Tom Golisano.
Theodore John Nolan is an Indigenous Canadian who has made significant contributions to professional hockey both as a player and as a coach. His career highlights include playing as a left winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) and serving as the head coach for teams such as the Buffalo Sabres and the Latvia men's national ice hockey team.
Gerard Marcus Meehan is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and the former general manager and Senior Vice President of the Buffalo Sabres.
Michael Anthony Peca is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peca served as the Washington Capitals player development coach and is currently an assistant coach for the New York Rangers.
James Patrick is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
The Fife Flyers are a Scottish professional ice hockey team in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Established in 1938, the Flyers are the oldest still-extant club in the country.
Steven Charles Shields is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his playing career, which lasted from 1994 to 2006, he played ten seasons in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Atlanta Thrashers.
Donald Harold Luce is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, executive and scout. Luce played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1969 to 1982.
Craig Edward Ramsay is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the NHL from 1971 to 1985 for the Buffalo Sabres, notably featuring in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. After his playing career, he became a coach with the Sabres and later served as the final head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. Since 2017, he is the head coach of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team.
Derek John Plante is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Plante played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He was a member of the 1999 Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars. He was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 2010-2015 before returning to the program as associate head coach in 2020. Plante left UMD in 2022 to become an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Craig Berube is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. After retirement, Berube served as head coach of the Flyers for two seasons, and the St. Louis Blues for parts of six seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 as then-interim head coach. Berube additionally served as a national team scout for Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, under Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.
Patrick Kaleta is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres from 2006 until 2015. He was drafted by the Sabres in the sixth round, 176th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Kaleta is just the third native of the Buffalo Niagara Region to play for the hometown Sabres in the regular season. Kaleta retains the highest career rate of drawing penalties since the NHL began collecting this data in the 2007-08 season.
Gregory Curtis Brown is an American ice hockey coach and a former professional player, most notably for the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is currently the head coach of the Boston College Eagles, an NCAA Division I team competing in Hockey East. Previously, Brown was a member of the Eagles coaching staff for fourteen years from 2004–2018, serving as an assistant coach under Jerry York and later alongside him as associate head coach. He also coached under David Quinn with the New York Rangers from 2018–2021 and served as the head coach for the Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2021–22 USHL season.
Darcy John Regier is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Regier was general manager of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League from 1997 until 2013. He was the longest-serving and winningest GM in Sabres history. In 2014, he became a senior vice president and assistant general manager with the Arizona Coyotes, ending his tenure with Arizona in 2016. Regier played 26 games in the NHL for the Cleveland Barons and New York Islanders as a defenseman.
Ted Sator is an American professional ice hockey coach. He has twelve seasons of National Hockey League (NHL) coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach for various teams and head coach of the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres. He has also spent time coaching in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL along with coaching in Europe including stints as the Slovenian and Hungarian national ice hockey teams. He is a current assistant men's ice hockey coach at Lindenwood University.
Donald Granato is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Nicolas Deslauriers is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the third round, 84th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. His play has been described as a mix between an enforcer and a grinder.
Jordan Nolan is a Canadian actor and former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Danny Flynn is a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach. He is currently an amateur scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.
Paul Theriault was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He served as an assistant coach in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres during the 1996–97 NHL season.