The Head Coach of Great Britain’s Men’s Senior team is rarely given credit for what he’s achieved behind the bench thus far in his career.
Ben Davies, Ben Bowns, Mike Hammond and Liam Kirk have all been (rightly) praised for producing key performances and moments for Great Britain.
Meanwhile, the lack of reverence for Pete Russel has been notable in its absence.
It is something I first mentioned back in 2019 https://wp.me/p2gDti-Qy
Very few British players have the opportunity to head overseas to broaden their horizons and prove themselves at a higher level, let alone coaches.
So Pete Russell shouldn’t be faulted for jumping at the chance of a DEL2 job despite signing a three-year contract extension with the Glasgow Clan three weeks previously.
That was in May 2019, and the Ayr native has since proven himself one of the top coaches in Germany’s second division.
The COVID shortened 2019-20 campaign saw Russell lead EHC Freiburg to third place in DEL 2 in his first season in charge.
Recognition for his achievement arrived via being named Head Coach of the Year.
The 2020-21 season got underway in November and despite all the difficulties during the pandemic, Russell once again led EHC Freiburg to a third-place finish.
His charges made it through to the semi-final stage and only lost 3-2 in a tightly contested affair against the eventual champions Bietigheim Steelers.
Russell moved on to Ravensburg Towerstars for the 2021-22 season, a team looking to rebound following a couple of disappointing regular-season campaigns.
It was a third successive third-place finish in the DEL 2 and a second shot at the play-offs.
Ravensberg despatched Eispiraten Crimmits and EC Bad Nauheim 4-0 and 4-1 respectively, to qualify for the finals.
There would be no fairytale first championship for Russell, however.
The Towerstars were swept 4-0 by a Löwen Frankfurt team that lost just eleven games in regulation through the regular season and posted a perfect record in the play-offs.
A measure of Russell’s success is that his Ravensberg team came close to a championship without a team of stars.
It was a team effort, as is born out by the Towerstars finishing as the third top scorers despite having just one player in the top twenty scorers and only inside the top thirty.
Ravensberg’s defensive efforts matched the offence as is showcased by the records of both netminders.
Jonas Langmann posted four shutouts and a .923Sv%, winning thirty of 43 starts.
Even the second-string goaltender Enrico Salvarani won seven of twelve games with a single shutout and a .907sv%.
Other teams in Germany have certainly been taking note of Russell’s success in DEL 2.
DEL club Augsburger Panther announced Pete Russell as their new head coach on April 30th.
Augsburger is one of the lesser lights in the DEL and has failed to qualify for the playoffs in six of the eight last completed seasons.
It will be a challenge but nothing has yet phased the Ayr native in his coaching career thus far.
Great Britain’s Head Coach is preparing to lead his team for their third appearance against the best nations in hockey at the 2022 IIHF World Championships.
It would be a fool’s errand to rule out Great Britain staving off relegation despite missing key offensive players, Liam Kirk and Mike Hammond.
Pete Russel’s coaching career has been built upon many factors including structure, work ethic, consistently getting the best out of his players and continually upsetting the odds.
If you don’t want to take my word for it, what about this tweet from one of Russell’s former players.
If you have enjoyed this article and would like to support my work please consider donating https://ko-fi.com/markukleaf or PayPal.me/markukleaf
Alternatively, if you feel inclined to support me longer term please consider becoming a patron https://www.patreon.com/markukleaf
Thank you for considering the above, reading this article and for your continued support.
UK Hockey Blog 