Rob Wilson (ice Hockey)
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Robert "Rob" Wilson (born July 18, 1968) is a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
-
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
professional
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 and a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is head coach of the
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. ...
of the
Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
. He is a member of the British ice hockey hall of fame.


Playing career

Born in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
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 ...
, the beginning part of Wilson's playing career included a three-year stint with the
Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...
in the OHL and one year with the
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. ...
, before landing his first job in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. In 1989-90, Wilson played for the Swindon Wildcats, but it would then take until 1994 before he returned to England. In the meantime, he honed his skills in the ECHL, CoHL, SuHL and AHL. In 1994-95, Wilson signed with the
Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...
of the
British Hockey League The British League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1996, when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. Note that the league never had 'hockey' in its title. The le ...
, the following season saw him turn out for the
Telford Tigers The Telford Tigers are a National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) ice hockey team that formed in 1985. After initially closing in 1999, a new team, under the name 'Telford Wild Foxes', was formed in 2001; and re-adopted the original name in 2005. The t ...
, then skate in the CHL and return to the Steelers. He split the 1996-97 season between playing in the CHL and in the British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL), again for the
Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...
. He stayed with the club until 2000 and then transferred to fellow BISL team
Newcastle Jesters The Newcastle Jesters were an ice hockey franchise based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. The team were members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and played their home games at the Telewest Arena (now the Utilita Arena). History Single Season o ...
. Except a short spell in Italy, Wilson would play in England for the remainder of his career, including six years as a player-coach with the
Newcastle Vipers From 2002 to 2011 the Newcastle Vipers were an ice hockey club based in Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolita ...
. He retired in 2009 and was inducted into the British ice hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. In the course of his playing career, Wilson represented the British National Team on the international stage on several occasions, including World Championships (Division I, Group B), winning a silver medal in 2001. He won a total of 34 caps for the British National Team and served as a team captain.


Coaching career

Wilson served as player-coach of the
Newcastle Vipers From 2002 to 2011 the Newcastle Vipers were an ice hockey club based in Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolita ...
from 2003 to 2009 and then focussed on the job behind the bench. In 2005-06, he received EIHL Coach of the Year honors. He also joined the coaching staff of the British National Team as an assistant. He left Newcastle after the 2009–10 campaign and embarked on a two-year stint as head coach of Italian second-division side AHC Neumarkt Egna Riwega. In 2012, he was hired by Rittner Buam of the Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
and remained at the helm until 2014. He led the team to winning the 2014 Italian championship and the 2014 Coppa Italia. He took over head coaching duties at German top-tier club EHC Straubing for the 2014-15 season, but was fired in November 2014 after winning only three games at the start of the season. A couple of weeks later, he was hired as assistant coach of fellow
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...
(DEL) side
Nürnberg Ice Tigers The Nürnberg Ice Tigers are a professional ice hockey club located in Nuremberg, Germany. They play in the country's premier league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. History The roots of the team can be traced back to SG Nürnberg, an ice hockey clu ...
. Wilson earned promotion to head coach for the 2015-16 season and guided the team to a playoff-semifinal appearance in his first year in the job. On December 8, 2016, his contract was extended until 2019. He received DEL Regular Season Coach of the Year honors in 2016-17. Like the year before, his team came up short in the 2017 semis, losing to Wolfsburg. For third time in a row, Wilson guided the Ice Tigers to the playoff-semis in the 2017–18 season. In early May 2018, he asked the club to terminate his contract for personal reasons. On May 3, 2018, he joined the
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. ...
of the
Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
as head coach. In 2023, Wilson led the Petes to their first OHL championship victory since 2006.


References


External links


Elite prospects profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rob Ice hockey coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario Newcastle Vipers players Canadian ice hockey coaches British ice hockey coaches 1968 births Living people British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees