Corey Neilson (born August 22, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

born-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently the head coach of German

DEL2 DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the '' Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (DEL) and ahead of the '' Oberliga''. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct '' 2nd Bundesliga'', DEL2 is administered by ESBG, u ...

side Dresdner Eislowen. Neilson was formerly the long-time head coach of the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

of the British

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

from 2008 to 2018, later returning to Nottingham on an interim basis from 2022 to 2023. Neilson was drafted 53rd overall in the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...

by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and spent the next few years developing his game in the major junior

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

before turning professional in 1997. Neilson spent several seasons in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

, getting called up to the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

before heading over to England to play for the

, where he played from 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

side

Lausitzer Füchse The Lausitzer Füchse (literally ''Lusatian Foxes'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Weißwasser, Saxony. They currently play in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. Prior to the 2013–14 season they played in the 2nd Bu ...

. He was relieved of his position in February 2021. After a short spell coaching Norwegian side

Manglerud Star Ishockey Manglerud Star Ishockey, commonly known as Manglerud Star and abbreviated as MS, is a Norway, Norwegian ice hockey team based in Oslo, Norway. They currently play in the GET-ligaen, after replacing the bankrupt Rosenborg IHK in the summer of 201 ...

, Neilson was named the new head coach of

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

side

HK Poprad HK Poprad is a professional ice hockey team in the Slovak Extraliga, the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. It plays its games in Poprad, Slovakia. The squad's greatest success was 2nd place in the Slovak Extraliga in 2006, 2011 and 2021. The club ...

in November 2021. After leaving HK Poprad, Neilson was named as the new head coach of German DEL2 side

EC Kassel Huskies The EC Kassel Huskies are a professional ice hockey club based in Kassel, Hessen, Germany. The club currently competes in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. The Huskies were founded in 1977 and have competed in the top five levels ...

on February 23, 2022 - replacing

Tim Kehler Tim Kehler (born July 5, 1971) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. He most recently served as head coach of the Ravensburg Towerstars in Germany. Career Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Kehler began his career behind the bench in 200 ...

. In November 2022, Neilson returned to Nottingham as head coach on a deal until the end of the season. He departed the club in April 2023, after leading the team to the play-off semi-finals, to take a position elsewhere in Europe. Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Neilson returned to Germany to take charge of DEL2 side Dresdner Eislowen. Neilson also played for the

Great Britain national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is control ...

after he obtained dual nationality. He is currently an assistant coach of the GB team - along with Adam Keefe - working under head coach Pete Russell.

Awards and honours

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, Corey 1976 births Living people Barrie Colts players British ice hockey defencemen Canadian emigrants to England 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 expatriate ice hockey players in England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Naturalised sports competitors Canadian ice hockey coaches British ice hockey coaches