Michael Pelino (born November 13, 1959) is a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach. He has been serving as the head coach of

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (, ), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a professional ice hockey club based in Yaroslavl, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The name of the team is derived from its ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL) since 2019.

Career

Pelino was born in

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He played varsity ice hockey at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

from 1979 to 1984. He won the 1984

OUAA Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...

and CIAU championships with the Blues, while making the Canadian All-Star team and earning OUAA first team distinction. During his ten-year tenure as head coach of

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

(1987 - 1997), Pelino was named OUA West Division Coach of the Year three times (1988, 1989, and 1995). In 1991, as a member of the coaching staff, he helped

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

win the

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

. Serving as head coach, he guided Canada’s under-18 national team to victory at the 1996 Pacific Cup and was an assistant coach on Canada’s gold-winning squad at the 1997 World Junior Championship. Following his ten-year stint as head coach of Brock University, which ended in 1997, Pelino was appointed assistant coach of the

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Spokane, Washington. The Chiefs play in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing home games at Spokane Arena. The Chiefs are two-time M ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

. He spent two seasons with the Spokane team. In August 1999, Pelino joined

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

, serving as associate coach and assistant general manager of the men's national team, winning gold at the 2000 Nagano Cup (as assistant coach), the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City (as assistant coach, video), as well as at the 2003 and 2004 World Championships (as assistant coach). As head coach, he guided Canada to victory at the 2000 Father Bauer Cup and the 2002

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...

. Pelino then moved to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), serving as head coach for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

in 2003-04, before joining the staff of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

as an assistant in August 2004. After five years with the Rangers, Pelino spent the 2009-10 season as an assistant coach with the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). He then took over as head coach of the OHL’s

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

prior to the 2010-11 campaign. He was sacked by the Petes in December 2012. In May 2013, Pelino put pen to paper on a two-year deal as assistant coach of

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk () is a professional ice hockey club based in Magnitogorsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club also competed in the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), Champion ...

of the

(KHL), serving under

Mike Keenan Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian-American former professional hockey coach. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams between 1984 and 2009. He currently ranks fifth in playoff win ...

. He helped guide Metallurg to the

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup () is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was supposedly named after Gagarin because the last po ...

as KHL champions his first year and stayed on the job after Keenan was let go in October 2015 and Ilia Vorobiev was promoted from assistant to head coach. In the 2015-16 season, Pelino won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg for a second time. He inked a contract extension with the club in June 2016, which will keep him in Magnitogorsk until 2018. In October 2016, he was named to Canada's coaching staff for the

Deutschland Cup The Deutschland Cup is an in-season international ice hockey tournament hosted by the German Ice Hockey Federation which has been contested in most years since 1987. Early years (1987–1997) In 1987, the German Ice Hockey Federation created the ...

, serving as an assistant to head coach Dave King.

Honors and achievements

* Ontario University Athletics (West Division) Coach of the Year 1988, 1989, 1995 * Member of the Welland Sports Wall of Fame (inducted in 2013) * Member of the 1983-84 Varsity Blues’ Men’s Hockey Team, which was inducted into the University of Toronto Hall of Fame in 2014 * Gagarin Cup winner 2014, 2016

External links

Mike Pelino at eliteprospects.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelino, Mike 1959 births Living people Canadian ice hockey coaches Florida Panthers coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario Italy men's national ice hockey team coaches New York Rangers coaches People from Welland Peterborough Petes coaches