Ted Nolan

Ted Nolan has been in hockey as a player and coach. Through it all, he's seen many ups and downs, along with success and adversity in his lifetime. Born in 7 April 1958, Garden River Ojibwa First Nation Reserve, Ontario, Canada. Ted's passion for hockey started at an early age. He lived in a house with no running water, so when he made is outdoor rink, he had to go to the outdoor hand pump and make it one pail at a time. When he and his brother Steven played hockey, they had to play on separate lines, because they shared the same pair of gloves and stick. As he grew older, in the 1975-76 season, he played for the Kenora Thistles. Unfortunatley he's had to deal with racism. Ted has found himself fighting for respect on the first day he tried out for the team and received many racist taunts by the home fans throughout the season. The next season, he played for the Saut Ste Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey Association, where he spent the next two seasons and spent time with teammates and future NHL players Craig Hartsburg Greg Millen and Wayne Gretzky. In 1978, Ted was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round, 78th overall. After his Major Junior career came to an end, Ted embarked on a professional career that saw most of his career in the minors, but he appeared in 79 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ted has said, he wasn't a good skater, or stick-handler,nor was he the biggest or toughest player, but what got him to the National Hockey League was his desire to be there. Injuries put an end to his playing career, but he returned to his Major Junior team, the Soo Ste Marie Greyhounds to coach as a mid-season replacement in the 1988-89 season. After a rough start, in the 1990-91 season, he lead the Greyhounds to a 42-21-3 season, the Ontario Hockey League Championship and a trip to Quebec City Quebec to represent the OHL in the 1991 Memorial Cup tournament. The 'Hounds were the first team eliminated. Some people have said after the Greyhounds defeated the defending OHL and Memorial Cup Champion Oshawa Generals, lead by Eric Lindros, the 'Hounds had nothing left in their "gas tanks" as that was a hard fought series and it took everything they had to win it. The next season, Ted lead the 'Hounds to another Ontario Hockey League Championship and to their second appearance to the 1992 Mamorial Cup Tournament in Seattle, Washington. In the tournament, the 'Hounds went undefeated in the round robin tournament, defeating the Seaettle Thunderbirds and the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League and Verdun College Francais of the Quebec Major Junior hockey League, giving them a berth into the Memorial Cup Final. In the final, the 'Hounds faced the Kamloops Blazers and lost in the dying seconds of regulation when Zac Boyer scored the game winning goal for the Blazers. In the 1992-93 season, the third time became the charm for Ted and the Greyhounds as they won the Memorial Cup Championship in their home rink, the Soo Gardens. Considered a "player's coach", players on the Greyhounds have said that Ted Nolan is the best coach they've ever had. By 1994, Ted found himself in the National Hockey League once again; First as assistant coach of the Hartford Whalers, then as Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres. In the two seasons with the Sabres, he takes a mediocre to bad team and changes them into playoff contenders. The Sabres under Nolan were considered the hardest working team in the National Hockey League. He was chosen the winner of the Jack Adams award for coach of the year. Along with success in Buffalo, Ted Nolan has faced adversity. He and the team's star goaltender Dominek Hasek didn't agree with Nolan's coaching philosophy and his relationship with General Manager John Muckler was stormy and it eventually lead to Muckler's firing. At the end of the 1996-97 season, Ted was offered a one year contract. He felt that the Sabres didn't want him and he turned it down. After he left the Sabres, he figured other offers would come his way. He received an offer to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he turned it down, because there would be no place for his two sons, Brandon and Jordan to play hockey in Florida. After that there were no offers. Some people have said Ted Nolan Nolan has been "blackballed" by the NHL and is labeled as a 'GM Killer" due to his problems in Buffalo with John Muckler. Some people have said it's racism. Whatever the case may be, Ted Nolan spent his time away from coaching in the National Hockey League, by working on the Rose Nolan Memorial Scholarship fund, named in honor of his late mother who along with his father taught him to be proud of his heritage. Ted was asked to coach a team of young Aboriginal Players to represent the Assembly of First Nations in an international tournament, where they would participate as a separate nation. In 2005, Ted received a call from the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to coach their team. Many wondered if Ted would be capable to coach in a league where he has no experience; He's been out of coaching for eight years and can he turn a struggling team the previous season into winners, in a year the city will host the 2006 Memorial Cup where the Wildcats will receive automatic berth into the tournament as hosts. Nolan silenced his doubters by Leading the wildcats to their best season ever, with a 52-15 record, winning the Quebec League Championship and going into the Memorial Cup Tournament as more than just the host team. In the final, they faced the Quebec Remparts, lead by former NHL goaltender, Patrick Roy. Although the Wildcats out shot the Remparts by a ratio of 2:1, the Wildcats lost 6-2. After the season, Ted Nolan was given the opportunity to coach once again in the National Hockey Leaegue, with the New York Islanders. Initially, in January of 2006, Ted was given the chance to become the coach of the Islanders, but he turned it down, citing his commitment to coach the Wildcats for the season. The Islanders have been another struggling team but time will tell if Ted Nolan can turn the fortunes of the Islanders around.