Ron Kennedy
Ron Kennedy ( born May 7, 1953 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, † July 9, 2009 in Klagenfurt, Austria ) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach.
Playing career
Kennedy began his career at the Estevan Bruins in the Western Canada Hockey League. The next stop was the New Westminster Bruins. Kennedy was drafted in the NHL Amateur Draft 1973 in the fifth round as number 65 of the New York Islanders. After that he played in the Central Hockey League and International Hockey League with the Fort Worth Wings, Fort Worth Texans, Muskegon Mohawks and the Kalamazoo Wings.
In the summer of 1978 he moved to Europe and played three seasons in the Netherlands, the Nijmegen Tigers. At the end of the 1980/81 season he left the Tigers and joined the EC Hannover, for whom he played 16 league games in the subsequent period. From 1982 to 1984 Kennedy played for HC Innsbruck in Austria. In 1984 he returned to North America and still graduated seven games with the Indianapolis Checkers.
Coaching career
Kennedy began his career in the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was coach of SV Villach 1992. With the Villachern he took at that time his first Austrian Championship title. After two years as head coach in 1994 was for a year assistant coach with the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League. His first coaching position in the German Ice Hockey League in 1995 the EC Hannover. From 1996 to 1998 he was the coach of the polar bear Berlin. During this time he also began at the Austrian national team as a coach (1996).
Kennedy remained until 2002 Trainer of the Austrians, incidentally he coached from 1998 to 2002 again the SV Villach, with whom he won two more championship titles. In the season 2002/ 03 Kennedy coached the Italian first division club HC Bolzano. In 2003 he returned to Germany and trained by 2008 the ERC Ingolstadt. Since January 2008, he was coach of HC Innsbruck. In December 2008 he laid for health reasons as coach in Innsbruck down. On 9 July 2009 Ron Kennedy died of a brain tumor. His ashes will be transferred to the family grave to Kelowna, British Columbia.