Tom Pokel (born September 2, 1967) is an American professional ice hockey coach and a former

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 h ...

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

. He is currently the head coach for the Straubing Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Playing career

Pokel attended the

State University of New York at Fredonia The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York, United States. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the sixty-sixth-oldest institute of ...

and was a three-time captain for the men's ice hockey team. He graduated in 1991.

Coaching career

Pokel worked on the Buffalo Sabres' marketing department for six years following his playing career, and in 1995 accepted the head coach position at German second-division side EHC Timmendorfer Strand. After two years in that job, he took over ESC Trier and one year later was named head coach of the

Bietigheim Steelers SC Bietigheim-Bissingen, also known as the Bietigheim Steelers, is a professional ice hockey team based in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany. They currently play in DEL, the highest-level league in Germany. Prior to the 2021—22 season they played i ...

who he guided to promotion from third to second division in 1999. In 2001, he moved from Bietigheim to Schwenninger ERC of the German top-flight Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), joining the Wild Wings as an assistant coach. On April 30, 2002, he was promoted to head coach. Pokel and the Wild Wings parted ways in October 2002. Following a short stint as assistant coach at

ERC Ingolstadt ERC Ingolstadt (''Eishockey-und-Rollschuh club'', ) is a German professional ice hockey club that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Commonly known as the Panthers, the team plays its home games at the Saturn Arena in Ingolstadt. History ...

, he left Germany for Austria, serving as head coach of

VEU Feldkirch VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria. The team currently plays in the Ö Eishockey Liga. They Play Their Home Games At Vorarlberghalle. They formerly Play in the Austrian National League and Alps Hockey League ...

, guiding the team to winning the championship in Austria's second division Nationalliga, EHC Lustenau,

Graz 99ers The Moser Medical Graz 99ers are an Austrian professional ice hockey team from Graz, Styria. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers started ...

and

EK Zell am See EK or Ek may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Ek Commando Knife Co., US knife manufacturer * Eastern Kentucky Railway (with reporting mark EK), now-defunct railway * Eastman Kodak (formerly with NYSE ticker symbol EK), US-based photogra ...

. In 2009, Pokel was appointed as head coach of Italian

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 Cop ...

club SG Pontebba. He would guide the team to three playoff appearances in his three years at the helm. He signed with fellow Serie A side Kanguro Alleghe Hockey for the 2012-13 campaign. Pokel then led HC Bolzano to the

EBEL Ebel is a Swiss luxury watch company that was founded in 1911 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. History Ebel was established in 1911 by Eugène Blum and his wife, Alice (née Lévy). The brand name originates from th ...

Championship in their inaugural season of the Austrian Hockey League in the 2013–14 season. Pokel joined the

Vienna Capitals Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Albert Schultz Eishalle. In the 2004–05 season, the Capit ...

of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL) on May 26, 2014. He parted company with the Capitals in February 2015. Pokel returned to Bolzano for the 2015-16 campaign and stayed on the job until the conclusion of the 2016–17 season. On October 26, 2017, he was named head coach of the Straubing Tigers of the German DEL.

International

On the back of his successful season with Bolzano, Pokel was named the head coach of the Italy national ice hockey team for competition at the

2014 IIHF World Championship The 2014 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Belarus in its capital, Minsk, held from 9–25 May 2014. Sixteen national teams were competing in two venues, the Minsk-Arena and Chizhovka-Arena. It was the first time Belarus hosted the tournamen ...

References

External links

* * 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin American ice hockey coaches American men's ice hockey defensemen Ice hockey coaches from Wisconsin State University of New York at Fredonia alumni Ice hockey players from Wisconsin {{US-icehockey-defenseman-stub