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Sean Simpson (born May 4, 1960) 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 ...
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 ...
coach and 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 ...
player. He last served as head coach of Adler Mannheim in the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
(DEL) in Germany. As a player, Simpson played two AHL seasons before embarking upon a career playing in Europe.


Playing career

Simpson played
major junior 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 ...
briefly for the
Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario ...
and then for four seasons with the
Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...
. During his time with Ottawa 67's (1977-1981), Sean Simpson had 141 goals and 238 assists in 226 games played. Simpson is 6th on the All-Time Regular Player stats for the Ottawa 67's. In 1979-1980, Simpson also represented Canada in the World Junior Championships U-20 tournament 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 the 7th round in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, he played a season with the
New Brunswick Hawks The New Brunswick Hawks were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Home games were played at the Moncton Coliseum. They were a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1978 and 1982. The Hawks operated as a min ...
. He then played the following season for the
Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...
, also of the AHL. Simpson joined
Tilburg Trappers The Tilburg Trappers are a professional ice hockey club based in Tilburg, The Netherlands. They previously played in the highest level ice hockey league in the country, but have been playing in the German Oberliga Nord since the 2015-16 season. ...
in 1983, for whom he played four seasons. During the 1986-87 season, Simpson represented Canada again at the International level. In 1988, he joined
Rotterdam Panda's Rotterdam Panda's was a professional ice hockey team in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They played in the Dutch Eredivisie, the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands. Home games were played at the Weena-ijshal, a (now-closed) arena near Rotterd ...
(sic). He was the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
's top scorer in both 1983–84 and 1988–89. In 1989, he joined Nationalliga A club
EHC Olten EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...
. He played the following season in
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 ...
with HC Fiemme Cavalese.


Coaching career

Simpson began his coaching career in 1992 as an assistant coach to Björn Kindling and later
Jim Koleff James Arthur Christopher Koleff (July 14, 1953
at HockeyDraftCentral.
– November 2, 2008) was a < ...
at
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 ...
in the Swiss elite league
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 h ...
. Prior to the 1997-98 season, Simpson was promoted to the head coaching position and guided Zug to the NLA championship in his first year at the helm. Zug had also finished the regular season on top of the NLA table. Simpson served another year as Zug head coach and then joined the München Barons of the German top-flight
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
(DEL) for the 1999-2000 season and won the DEL title his first year. The following season, he coached the Barons to another finals appearance, where they lost 3 games to 1 to Mannheim. In 2001-02, Simpson led the Barons to the semifinals, where they lost to
Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL. The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...
. The franchise was relocated to Hamburg in 2002 and renamed the Hamburg Freezers. Simpson coached the Hamburg team in its inaugural season (2002–03) and led the Freezers to a playoff berth. He left Hamburg after the season to return to
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 ...
. In 2003-04, he guided EVZ to the NLA playoffs, where they fell short in the quarterfinals (4-1 against Bern), despite having former NHL star
Claude Lemieux Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six teams between 1983 and 2009. Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his care ...
on the team, who had signed with Zug in February 2004 for the remainder of the season. In 2004-05, Simpson guided Zug to the NLA semifinals but did not manage to get past the
ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and play ...
. The following season, Simpson's team was held off by
Rapperswil-Jona Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, the municipality includes Bollingen, B ...
in the quarterfinals and reached the semis one year later. In his final year at the Zug helm (2007–08), Simpson coached EVZ to another playoff appearance but did not get past the quarterfinals. Simpson inked a deal with reigning Swiss champs
ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and play ...
in 2008. In his two years at ZSC, Simpson guided the Lions to the
Champions Hockey League The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe. Backgrou ...
title and the Victoria Cup title in 2009 beating 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 ...
of
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 ...
(NHL). In the NLA, the Lions dropped out in the playoff quarterfinals both years. During his tenures at EV Zug and ZSC, Simpson was named to the coaching staff of Team Canada for the Spengler-Cup five times (three times as assistant coach, twice as head coach) and guided the team to the title in 2007. Simpson was named head coach of the Swiss national team prior to the 2010 World Championships and remained in that job until 2014. At the 2010 World Championships, Simpson's team defeated Canada in the preliminary round and made it to the quarterfinals, before falling short to host Germany. In 2011 and 2012, the Swiss team failed to qualify for the quarterfinals at the World Championships. In 2013, Simpson led the Swiss national team to its greatest ever success, a silver medal at the World Championships in Sweden. At the 2014 Olympic Games, Simpson's squad missed the quarterfinals and finished in ninth place. In April 2014, he became the head coach of
KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...
team
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (russian: ХК Локомотив, en, Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...
, but was sacked after nine games. In December 2014 he became the head coach of the
Kloten Flyers EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...
in 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 h ...
. In May 2016, after the club had been sold to Hans-Ueli Lehmann and after budget cuts had been announced, Simpson's contract with Kloten was terminated by mutual consent. He was named head coach of Adler Mannheim of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
(DEL) on May 11, 2016. In the 2016-17 season, he led the team to a second-place finish in the regular season, before falling short to
Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also o ...
in the playoff quarterfinals. On December 4, 2017, Simpson was relieved of his duties as Mannheim head coach due to the team's poor results. The Adler team was in seventh place, when Simpson was sacked. In October 2019, Sean Simpson returned to the NLA and became a coaching advisor to the coaching staff for
HC Fribourg-Gottéron HC Fribourg-Gottéron is a professional ice hockey team based in Fribourg, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). The team is the sixth most attended team in Switzerland for the 2015/16 season with 6,156 spectators. History The ...
during the 2019-2020 season. Sean Simpson was named the Head Coach of the
Hungary men's national ice hockey team The Hungarian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Hungary. They have participated in the IIHF European Championships, the IIHF World Hockey Championships and the Olympic Games since 1928. A consistent participant of ...
in September 2020 for the next two seasons.


References


External links

*
Article at cbcsports.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Sean 1960 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks draft picks EHC Olten players HC Ajoie players HC Fiemme players Kingston Canadians players Living people New Brunswick Hawks players Ottawa 67's players People from Brampton Rotterdam Panda's players SC Lyss players Springfield Indians players TYSC Trappers players ZSC Lions players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the Netherlands Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland