James Arthur Christopher Koleff (July 14, 1953
at HockeyDraftCentral. – November 2, 2008) was 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 ...

hockey player and coach who spent three decades playing hockey and coaching and managing hockey teams in Europe. Koleff played for three seasons, from 1971 to 1973, with the

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

Hamilton Red Wings The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario, at the Barton Street Arena, also known as the Hamilton Forum. History The Hamilton Tiger Cubs we ...

from 1971 to 1973. He was drafted by the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in 1973, but never played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

.Tuniz, Davide
"At 54 former HC Lugano player and coach lost his battle against cancer"
Eurohockey.net, November 2, 2008. Accessed November 8, 2008. He followed with four seasons at mid-level minor hockey teams, including the

Flint Generals The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center. The Generals won two league championship ...

of the International Hockey League.

Dave Chambers Dave Chambers (born May 7, 1940) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach. Chambers coached the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1990 until 1991. Born in Leaside, Ontario, Chambers played junior hockey in the Ontario Ho ...

just hired as coach of the

HC Gherdëina Hockey Club Gherdëina, also known as HC Gardena, currently named HC Gherdeina valgardena.it due to sponsorship reasons, is an Italian ice hockey team, which plays in the Alps Hockey League, having formerly played in the top division of Italian i ...

of the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

Italian hockey league, invited Koleff to play for the team, and led the league in scoring that season. He was signed by

Hockey Club Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

. He played for HC Lugano until 1992 when he took up became the coaching of

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in t ...

. During the 1992 season, he was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

, which was in remission for a period until it metastasized two years as a stomach tumor. With chemotherapy, the cancer disappeared. He returned to coaching and led EV Zug to its first-ever league championship series. He returned to coach Lugano to a victory in the 1999 Swiss championship, the team's first win in nine seasons. He later became coach, and later general manager, of the

Lausanne Hockey Club , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-7 ...

, and was a member of the team's board of directors at the time of his death. In 2006, he told ''

The Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'' that "I told

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

I'd go for one year and 30 years later I'm still here". He was an assistant coach on Pat Quinn's Team Canada staff that won the silver medal at the 2006 Spengler Cup held in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Koleff died at age 55 on November 2, 2008 in

Lausanne, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

after suffering from cancer for 16 years.Milton, Steve
"Courage in the face of death"
''

'', November 4, 2008. Accessed November 8, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koleff, Jim 1953 births 2008 deaths Canadian ice hockey centres Deaths from cancer in Switzerland Deaths from testicular cancer Ice hockey people from Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) players Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Flint Generals (IHL) players Place of birth missing HC Gardena players Flint Generals (CoHL) players Dallas Black Hawks players EHC Bülach players Genève-Servette HC players EHC Basel players EHC Olten players HC Lugano players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian emigrants to Switzerland Canadian ice hockey coaches