Corey Neilson
| Corey Neilson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
August 22, 1976 Oromocto, New Brunswick, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Slovak Extraliga team | HK Poprad (head coach) | ||
| Played for |
Quad City Mallards Portland Pirates EC Timmendorfer Strand Louisiana IceGators Elmira Jackals Syracuse Crunch Pensacola Ice Pilots Florida Everblades Nottingham Panthers | ||
| National team |
 Great Britain | ||
| NHL Draft |
53rd overall, 1994 Edmonton Oilers | ||
| Playing career | 1997–2012 | ||
Corey Neilson (born August 22, 1976) is a Canadian born-British former professional ice hockey defenceman who was formerly the long-time head coach of the Nottingham Panthers of the British Elite Ice Hockey League from 2008-2018. He is currently the head coach of Slovak Extraliga side HK Poprad, after arriving in November 2021.
Neilson was drafted 53rd overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and spent the next few years developing his game in the major junior Ontario Hockey League before turning professional in 1997. Neilson spent several seasons in the ECHL, getting called up to the American Hockey League before heading over to England to play for the Nottingham Panthers, where he has been since 2006 when he was signed by then coach Mike Ellis as a player, he was later appointed player-coach in 2008 following a season as assistant player coach to Ellis.
Neilson continued to play and coach for the Panthers until he retired part way through the 2012–13 season, in which he later led the Nottingham Panthers to their first league title in 57 years and a grand slam season in 2012–13 (even though they only won 3 out of the 4 available trophies) . Upon securing the league, the club retired Neilson's number 77 jersey alongside some of the Panthers legends of the past, Neilson became the 5th player to have his jersey retired by the club. In addition, under his leadership Panthers won six Challenge Cups and four Playoff championships, making him the most successful coach in Nottingham Panthers history.
In 2018, Neilson became the new head coach of German DEL2 side Lausitzer Füchse.[1] He was relieved of his position in February 2021.[2]
After a short spell coaching Norwegian side Manglerud Star Ishockey, Neilson was named the new head coach of Slovak Extraliga side HK Poprad in November 2021.[3]
Neilson also played for the Great Britain national ice hockey team after he obtained dual nationality. He is currently an assistant coach of the GB team - along with Adam Keefe - working under Pete Russell.
Awards and honours[]
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| EIHL First All-Star team | 2011–12 | [4] |
Career statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–00 | Louisiana IceGators | ECHL | 56 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 127 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 36 | ||
| 1999–00 | Team Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2000–01 | Louisiana IceGators | ECHL | 64 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 128 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 24 | ||
| 2001–02 | Louisiana IceGators | ECHL | 71 | 12 | 40 | 52 | 138 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Elmira Jackals | UHL | 72 | 10 | 44 | 54 | 136 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 | ||
| 2002–03 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Pensacola Ice Pilots | ECHL | 72 | 19 | 59 | 78 | 130 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Pensacola Ice Pilots | ECHL | 71 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 79 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pensacola Ice Pilots | ECHL | 32 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 40 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 54 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | ||
| 2006–07 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 111 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 144 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 15 | 47 | 62 | 123 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 13 | 44 | 57 | 106 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 9 | 47 | 56 | 90 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2011–12 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 53 | 8 | 42 | 50 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| EIHL totals | 330 | 69 | 252 | 321 | 680 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 40 | ||||
| ECHL totals | 406 | 87 | 219 | 306 | 773 | 52 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 94 | ||||
References[]
- ^ "Neuer Trainer für die Lausitzer Füchse".
- ^ "Bisheriger Co Chris Straube Ab Sofort Cheftrainer der Lausitzer Füchse".
- ^ "Poprad has found a replacement for Mikula: Kamzíkov will be led by a Canadian coach".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2014-02-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Canadian ice hockey defenceman born in the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1976 births
- Living people
- Barrie Colts players
- British ice hockey players
- Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey defencemen
- Detroit Whalers players
- Edmonton Oilers draft picks
- Elmira Jackals (UHL) players
- Florida Everblades players
- Great Britain men's national ice hockey team coaches
- Ice hockey people from New Brunswick
- Ice hockey player-coaches
- Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) players
- Nottingham Panthers players
- North Bay Centennials players
- Pensacola Ice Pilots players
- Portland Pirates players
- Quad City Mallards (UHL) players
- Syracuse Crunch players
- Canadian ice hockey defenceman, 1970s births stubs