Former Great Britain boss Paul Thompson has taken over as Cardiff Devils head coach following the departure of Pete Russell.

Russell, who guided the Devils to a first European title – the IIHF Continental Cup – left after the club lost the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) play-off Grand Final to Nottingham Panthers.

Thompson was head coach of Great Britain from 2006 to 2011, and spent 13 highly successful years at Coventry Blaze.

Joining in 2000, Thompson led Blaze into the current Elite League era, winning four league titles, one play-off championship, two knockout cups and three Challenge Cups as Coventry dominated the early years of the competition.

Thompson was also named EIHL coach of the year on three occasions.

Scandinavian Success

After leaving the Blaze in 2014, Thompson moved to the Swedish Allsvenskan League with IF Troja-Ljungby before moving to Aalborg in Denmark for the 2014-15 season.

Thompson returned to England with the Sheffield Steelers for the 2015/16 season, winning the league title in his first season and again named coach of the year.

The next season, Thompson’s Steelers defeated the Devils in double overtime to win the Playoff Championship in 2017.

He left the Steelers midway through the 2018-19 season and was hired by Schwenninger in the DEL, the top league in Germany.  He was let go in December the following season.  During the Covid season of 2020-21, Thompson coached Italian side Unterland, winning the Italian Cup.

He was hired by Odense ahead of the 2021-22 season and was tasked with turning around a team that had finished last the previous season.  Over the last four years, he has transformed the Bulldogs from a last place team into Champions.

‘we’re on the same team now’

“Paul Thompson is one of the most successful coaches in the history of this league and we are very pleased to have him in Cardiff,” said managing director Todd Kelman.

“I am very aware of the historic rivalry between the Devils and the teams Paul coached. Before my time, the Blaze and the Devils had one of the fiercest rivalries in the league and when I got to Cardiff, those first few years we were battling with the Steelers for every title.

“Even before I came to Cardiff, when I was in Belfast, we battled with the Blaze for hardware nearly every season. Believe me, I cursed his name a lot over the years, but I think rivalry is always wrapped in respect.  You don’t hate a team that you always beat.  You hate the teams that you battle against and compete for trophies against.

“What he has done in Denmark is impressive, taking a smaller budget team all the way to a championship, the first in the history of their club. I watched their entire playoff run and I was impressed with the style they played – fast, relentless hockey that was hard to defend.

“The bottom line is, we’re on the same team now.  We are happy to have him and looking forward to getting him to Cardiff.”

 

Top image credit – Dean Woolley

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