Greg Ireland

Greg Ireland (born on October 5, 1965 in Orangeville) is a Canadian ice hockey coach. Ireland has coached minor and junior amateur teams and professional teams in North America and Europe. He is currently the head coach of HC Bolzano of the ICEHL and of the Italian National Team.
== Team staff career ==
Role 	Team 	Years
Head coach 	Oakville Blades 	1992 - 1994
Head coach 	Caledon Canadians 	1994 - 1998
Head coach 	Dayton Bombers 	1998 - 2002
GM/Head coach 	Dayton Bombers 	2002 - 2003
Assistant coach	Grand Rapids Griffins	2003 - 2005
Head coach 	Grand Rapids Griffins	2005 - 2007
Head coach 	San Antonio Rampage 	2007 - 2010
Head coach 	HC Lugano 	2011
Head coach 	Owen Sound Attack 	2011 - 2015
Head coach 	Adler Mannheim 	2015 - 2016
Head coach 	HC Lugano 	2017 - 2019
Head coach 	HC Bolzano 	2020 - present
Head coach 	Italian National Team	2020 - present
Born in Orangeville, Ontario, Ireland is a graduate of York University. Ireland began his career as ice hockey coach in 1991 as head coach of the Milton Merchants. In 1992 he was hired by the Oakville Blades of the COJHL to be their head coach. After two years with the team and after receiving Ontario Hockey Association's Jr. A Division West Coach of the Year honors in 1994, he took over the Caledon Canadians and guided the team to three MetJAHL runner-up finishes in four years. Under his guidance, the Canadians amassed a 42-3-5 record in 1994–95, making them the number one team in Canadian junior hockey at the time.
Ireland then spent five years (1998–2003) at the helm of the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL, serving as head coach and general manager of hockey operations. In his last season with the Bombers, he was also the GM of the team. He coached the team to an EHCL record of 175-134-47 and led the Bombers to an appearance in the 2002 Kelly Cup finals.
In the second half of the 2002–03 season, he had a short stint as assistant coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.
Ireland joined the coaching staff of AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings, in 2003, serving two years as assistant, before being promoted to head coach in February 2005, replacing Danton Cole. The Griffins made the Calder Cup play-off semifinals in Ireland's first full season as Grand Rapids' head coach (2005–06). Ireland stayed on the job until 2007 and then was appointed as head coach of the San Antonio Rampage in August 2007. In November 2009, he was sacked by the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes after a run of ten games without a win.
Ireland was hired by Swiss side HC Lugano in February 2011 only a couple of days before the start of the relegation round to join Mike McNamara on the post of the head coach. His task was to keep the club in the top flight NLA which he did.
He signed with the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL in August 2011 and stepped down from his head coaching position in July 2015 to accept an offer from Germany: He signed with the Adler Mannheim, defending champion of the DEL, for the 2015–16 campaign, in which he also coached the team at the 2015 Spengler Cup, but was sacked on February 11, 2016 after a five-game losing streak. The Adler Mannheim CEO said in a statement, the team had displayed a lack of consistency throughout the season.
On January 16, 2017, Ireland was named head coach of the HC Lugano of the NLA, replacing Doug Shedden. He led the team to the NLA semifinals and was handed a two-year contract extension in April 2017. In March 2019, he parted ways with the club after losing 0-4 in the playoff quarterfinals against the EV Zug.
On January 2, 2020, he was signed as the new head coach of HC Bolzano of the EBEL, replacing Clayton Beddoes, and on March 22, 2020 also accepted the job as the head coach of the Italian National Team.
== References ==
== External links ==
* http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=2363
Category:1965 births
Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches
Category:Grand Rapids Griffins coaches
Category:Italy men's national ice hockey team coaches
Category:Owen Sound Attack coaches
Category:York University alumni