Geoff Ward (ice hockey)
Geoff Ward ( born April 8, 1962 in Waterloo, Ontario ) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, who is since 2007 with the Boston Bruins as assistant coach under contract.
Career
Ward himself has never played professional hockey, but began in 1989, when 27- year-old, his coaching career. At that time he began as an assistant coach with the team at the University of Waterloo. Until 1993 he fulfilled this job before he held the head coach a junior team in the Waterloo Siskins which he could directly lead to win the title, took over. The following four seasons Ward coached the OHL Kitchener Rangers team. In the 1998/99 season he was at Guelph Storm on the boards, then he hired a notch higher in the East Coast Hockey League in the Arkansas River Blades, with whom he had to retire in the play- offs, at.
In 2000 he first came to Germany. But the EC Bad Nauheim he was just before the playoffs - according to many fans of the Nauheim too late - dismissed.
He returned to North America and has since worked for the organization of the Edmonton Oilers. At first he was active as an assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL before he had become during the 2002/ 03 season for head coach, as his predecessor Claude Julien coach of the Montreal Canadiens was. He led the Bulldogs nor the finals of the Calder Cup and was subsequently awarded, together with Louis AR Pieri Julien with the award for best coach. With the Toronto Roadrunners Ward difference in the sequence which season from in the qualification round. Since the Roadrunners had to move in the near Edmonton during the lockout year, even Ward moved into the Oilers City.
In the season 2005/ 06 was Ward " Development Coach" the Oilers, while for the draft picks who play in many leagues of North America, responsible. In the play-offs he took over scouting duties, so that he also has a share of the entry into the Stanley Cup final.
But since he as a coach would stand behind the band, he decided to a renewed move to Germany and signed with the Iserlohn Roosters in the DEL. On 15 May 2007, the Roosters announced that the contract was terminated with Ward because Ward wanted to return to his homeland. He completed early August the Boston Bruins as assistant coach, where he will work as with the Hamilton Bulldogs under Claude Julien.
Geoff Ward has a wife and four children, who had gone with him to the Sauerland.
Awards and achievements
- Louis AR Pieri Award in 2003 (together with Claude Julien )
- 2011 Stanley Cup win with the Boston Bruins ( as assistant coach )