Ralph Krueger

Ralph Krueger

Coach Ralph Krueger at the 2013 Edmonton Oilers training camp
Born (1959-08-31) August 31, 1959
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Düsseldorfer EG
Schwenninger ERC
SC Riessersee
ECD Sauerland
Starbulls Rosenheim
National team  Germany
Playing career 1979–1991

Ralph Krueger (born August 31, 1959) is a Canadian-born German former professional ice hockey coach and player and current chairman of Southampton Football Club.

He was head coach of the Swiss men's national ice hockey team from the 1997–98 season until the end of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 and the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2012–13 season.[1] In 2014, Krueger shifted from hockey to the world of association football, to become director of English Premier League team Southampton.[2][3] On March 12, 2014, Krueger was appointed the chairman of Southampton F.C.[4]

He is also known for his involvement in the World Economic Forum, where since 2011 he has been a Member, Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership.[5]

Personal life

Born in Winnipeg, Krueger was raised in Steinbach, Manitoba. His parents were immigrants from Germany.[6] He attended St. John's-Ravenscourt School where he played hockey as a centre.[7] His son Justin was a member of the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League and now plays for SC Bern. Justin played for Germany's men's national ice hockey team at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.[8][9]

Playing career

Ralph Krueger came to Germany in the late 1970s, joining second-division side Duisburger SC. After one year, he returned to Canada, but was back in Germany in 1980 and would stay there for the remainder of his playing days. He saw action in 350 games of the German Bundesliga, accumulating 187 goals and 186 assists. In the 1980–81 season, as a member of Düsseldorfer EG, he led the league in scoring during the playoffs, with 22 points. He also played 45 games for the West German national ice hockey team.

Coaching career

Krueger began his coaching career as an assistant with EV Duisburg of the German second league. Between 1994 and 1998, he led VEU Feldkirch to five straight Austrian championships, culminating in Feldkirch becoming champions in 1998 of the European Ice Hockey League, made up of the champions of various European leagues. This experience later encouraged him to author a motivational book.[10] After the successes with the Austrian team, he took over as full-time head coach of the Swiss national ice hockey team, having split his time between Feldkirch and Switzerland in 1998. His tenure with the Swiss national team has also seen some notable successes. He led the team to appearances at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games and to several World Championship appearances. Krueger was also a scouting consultant for the Carolina Hurricanes.[11]

Krueger joined the Oilers as associate coach in 2010.[11] Although during his time with the Swiss team, Krueger may have been known as a defensive-minded coach, he has also demonstrated the ability to deliver the offensive style of game. This was confirmed by his performance as coach for VEU Feldkirch in Austria. He has been described as a great communicator, positive thinker and a motivator. The book he authored (in German, also translated into French), called Teamlife - Beyond Setbacks to Success, was devoted to handling problems in life, and became a bestseller.[12]

The Oilers promoted Krueger to head coach for the 2012-13 NHL season, but he was relieved of his duties after only one season.[13] Hockey Canada subsequently added Krueger as a special adviser to its coaching staff for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[14][15]

Krueger was chosen to coach Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.[16]

Switch to football

In 2014, Krueger made the switch from ice hockey to association football, becoming director of Southampton in February 2014. Shortly after, he was appointed chairman of the club.[3][17][18][4]

Other activities

He is also known for his involvement in the World Economic Forum, where since 2011 he has been a Member, Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership.[5]

Statistics

Playing statistics

Season Team League GP G A Pt Pen
1978–79 New Westminster Bruins WHL 3 2 0 2 10
1978–79 Calgary Wranglers WHL 76 35 60 95 83
1979–80 Düsseldorfer EG 1. Bundesliga 42 17 16 33 34
1980–81 Düsseldorfer EG 1. Bundesliga 46 52 51 103 41
1982–83 Schwenninger ERC 1. Bundesliga 36 20 20 40 50
1983–84 Schwenninger ERC 1. Bundesliga 46 21 20 41 24
1984–85 ECD Sauerland 1. Bundesliga 45 36 29 65 44
1986–87 Düsseldorfer EG 1. Bundesliga 44 26 24 50 40
1987–88 Düsseldorfer EG 1. Bundesliga 43 14 22 36 32

NHL coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
WonLostOT/SOWin %Finish Won Lost Result
EDM2012–13 19227.463 3rd in Northwest Division - - Missed Playoffs
Total 19227.4630 Division
Championships		 0 0 0 Stanley Cups

Other leagues

Ralph Krueger-coached teams have achieved the following places in international tournaments:

Year Tournament Site Place
1998 IHWC Basel / Zurich, Switzerland 4.
1999 IHWC Lillehammer / Oslo, Norway 8.
2000 IHWC Saint Petersburg / Moscow, Russia 5.
2001 IHWC Nuremberg / Cologne / Hannover, Germany 9.
2002 Olympics Salt Lake City, U.S. 11.
2002 IHWC Gothenburg / Karlstad / Jonköping, Sweden 11.
2003 IHWC Helsinki / Tampere / Turku, Finland 8.
2004 IHWC Prague, Czech Republic 8.
2005 IHWC Vienna / Innsbruck, Austria 8.
2006 Olympics Turin, Italy 6.
2006 IHWC Riga, Latvia 9.
2007 IHWC Moscow / Mytishchi, Russia 8.
2008 IHWC Halifax / Quebec City, Canada 7.
2009 IHWC Bern / Kloten, Switzerland 9.
2010 Olympics Vancouver, Canada 8.
2016 World Cup Toronto, Canada 2.

Bibliography

Ralph Krueger: Teamlife - Über Niederlagen zum Erfolg [German]; Werd Verlag, Zürich 2001; ISBN 3859323571

References

  1. ↑ Swiss a revelation in Krueger's last tournament. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Southampton set to hire ex-NHL coach Ralph Krueger as director. NBC Sports - ProSoccer Talk, 22 January 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 Folley, Malcolm (23 February 2014). "Pochettino has my backing! Southampton's new guru Krueger shows boss support". Daily Mail. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Ralph Krueger named Southampton chairman". BBC Sport. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 World Economic Forum
  6. ↑ Klemm, Thomas (2013-02-07). "NHL Kruegers Mission bei den Oilers". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  7. ↑ Johnson, George. "Johnson: Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger settling into role as Southampton FC chair". www.calgaryherald.com. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Team Roster Germany, May 2010
  9. ↑ Krueger cheers for son. Alan Adams, IIHF website, 10 May 2010. Retrieved 2 Jan 2011.
  10. ↑ Ralph Krueger: Teamlife - Über Niederlagen zum Erfolg; Werd Verlag, Zürich 2001; ISBN 3-85932-357-1
  11. 1 2 Merk, Martin (September 9, 2010). "Swiss duo in Edmonton". IIHF.com. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ Krueger an 'Alpha-animal'. London Free Press, 4 June 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Malcolm (June 8, 2013). "Edmonton Oilers fire Ralph Krueger as head coach". CBC. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  14. ↑ Ralph Krueger is on Canada’s Olympic coaching staff
  15. ↑ Krueger hired as Canadian Olympic team's inside man. Vancouver Sun, 25 August 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  16. ↑ Maurice, Krueger reunite on Team Europe staff. NHL News. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Smith, Ben (24 February 2014). "Ice hockey chief Ralph Krueger poised to start Southampton role". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "Incoming Saints director Ralph Krueger will leave Mauricio Pochettino to work". Sky Sport. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
Preceded by
Tom Renney		 Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers
2012–13 		Succeeded by
Dallas Eakins
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