Top 7: Coaches of the EIHL
Photo: Panthers Images
After asking fans to suggest their "Favourite ever' goalie, defenseman and forward, this week's social media challenge moved off the ice:
?Good Monday morning! | #EIHL
— EIHL (@officialEIHL) June 1, 2020
Thinking ? on ? pic.twitter.com/HA7DTxFKNi
Here are the top suggestions:
Corey Neilson
Coach in Nottingham for ten seasons, Neilson did a few things that no other coach has done in the Elite League. He won six challenge cups, including five consecutive titles between 2009/10 and 2013/14, and was the first coach of an EIHL team (and so far only) to win the IIHF Continental Cup. Neilson also delivered the Panthers' first league title in 57 years in the grand slam season of 2012/13, plus was a playoff champion in 2011 and 2012. In 2017 he also guided the Panthers into the last 16 of the Champions Hockey League, something no EIHL side has yet managed to repeat.
Paul Thompson
Few coaches have won Elite League silverware with more than one team, but Thompson has a whole host of trophies on his coaching record during two stints in the EIHL. With Coventry, he won four league titles, a knockout cup, and a grand slam in 2004/05 with the playoffs and Challenge Cup as well. In Sheffield, the former GB coach also delivered a league title and playoff championship in his first two seasons.
Dave Matsos
Now coaching in the OHL, Matsos spent six seasons in the Elite League from 2004 until 2010. Initially a Player-Assistant Coach in Cardiff, Matos helped Cardiff to a Challenge Cup in 2005/06 before moving to take over the Head Coach role in Sheffield. There he led the Steelers to the playoff title in 2008, and won the league and playoff double a year later.
Rob Wilson
Wilson led the Vipers as Player-Coach for four Elite League seasons, and then as a Head Coach for a further year, although had been in his role in Newcastle since 2003. His only silverware was the playoff title in 2006 after finishing as runners-up in the league, but he consistently led the Vipers to at least the playoff Quarter-Finals in all bar one of the following seasons.
Paul Adey
Now perhaps better known for providing analysis on the live FreeSports games, Adey was Head Coach in Nottingham for the first two Elite League seasons where he won a Challenge Cup. After spending some time coaching in Italy and Switzerland, he returned to the EIHL in 2013 with Belfast and won the league title by a 23-point margin, winning 43 of his side's 52 regular season games!
Pete Russell
The current Great Britain coach started his Elite League career in 2017 when the MK Lightning stepped up to the country's top flight. A year later he made the switch to Glasgow and led the Clan to a fourth-place finish in the table, just three shy of being higher. Russell's excellent year with the Clan saw them win the Gardiner Conference title and reach the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals.
Andrew Lord
Since taking on coaching duties in Cardiff in 2014, Lord has managed to deliver a trophy each season with the Devils. Before 2019/20, the Canadian had won two Challenge Cups, two league titles and two playoff championships during his time in Wales with three conference titles in the bag as well. In the CHL, he's led the Devils to victories over Davos Mountfield and Växjö as well as finishing third in their group last season.
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