By SooToday.com Staff
SooToday.com
Thursday, June 08, 2006

NEWS RELEASE

NEWS YORK ISLANDERS

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Islanders announce new hockey operations staff

GM Neil Smith, head coach Ted Nolan and senior advisor to the owner Pat LaFontaine join Trottier, Milbury and Saffan

At a press conference this afternoon at the Long Island Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Islanders owner Charles Wang introduced the team's new Hockey Operations staff.

Neil Smith, a 1974 Islanders draft pick, the owner of a 1981-82 Stanley Cup ring from his days as an Islanders scout and the architect of the Rangers' 1993-94 Stanley Cup championship team, has been named the fourth general manager in Islanders history.

Ted Nolan, the head coach of the 2006 Memorial Cup finalist Moncton Wildcats, the 1996-97 NHL Coach of the Year while with the Buffalo Sabres and the head coach of the 1993 Memorial Cup champion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, is the Islanders' new head coach.

In addition, Islanders Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, who played for Nolan in Buffalo and Smith as a member of the Rangers, has been named senior advisor to the owner.

"I'm extremely proud of the team of leaders we have put together," said Wang.

The Islanders' hockey operations staff also includes senior VP Mike Milbury, Islanders Executive Director of Player Development Bryan Trottier and Bridgeport Sound Tigers President Howard Saffan.

Added Wang: "This is the group that will develop a team that will bring the next Stanley Cup to Long Island."

Said Smith: "Knowing that I'll be working in the same office where one of my mentors, Bill Torrey, created a dynasty is an unbelievable feeling. Al Arbour, whom I owe everything to, gave me my first hockey job as an advance scout. I wear my Islanders Stanley Cup ring with immense pride. To be able to come full circle and return home to the Islanders is a dream."

"I want to thank Charles Wang for giving me this chance," said Nolan. "This is an opportunity that I was unsure I would ever receive again. For that reason, I am more charged up about this challenge than any in my life. My family and I are very proud to be joining the great Islanders tradition. I will not let Charles, the Islanders family or our fans down."

LaFontaine, the Islanders' fan favorite for his remarkable skills and impressive work in the Long Island community, will serve as an advisor to Charles Wang. "I'm excited to be back involved with New York Islanders," said LaFontaine. "It's obvious that Charles has a real passion for Long Island and especially for the Islanders. He has taken a big step today by bringing in proven leaders and great hockey minds in Neil, Ted and Bryan. I look forward to being part of this team as we work to bring a championship back to Long Island."

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Ted Nolan's bio and background

Ted Nolan has been a coaching success at every level of professional and amateur hockey, having reached the pinnacle when he was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year for his work with the Buffalo Sabres in 1996-97.

Nolan is noted for his ability to motivate and teach and he has a knack for drawing the most from the talent available on his teams.

After an eight-year absence from competitive coaching, Nolan returned this season with a sterling debut as head coach and director of hockey operations for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

He introduced 14 new players to the team, and led Moncton to its first-ever President Cup as QMJHL champion, finishing first overall in the regular season at 52-15-0-2.

The Wildcats advanced to the finals of the Memorial Cup (Canadian Junior Championships) where they finished runner-up to Patrick Roy’s Quebec Remparts.

Born on the Garden River First Nation Reserve just outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Nolan is a member of the First Nations Ojibway tribe.

Following his time in Buffalo, Nolan, 48, devoted himself to First Nations causes, including teaching hockey to First Nations children.

His work in this area earned him the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Sault Ste. Marie Medal of Merit and the Order of Ontario.

He became head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1988, as a mid-season replacement and coached there until the end of the 1994 season.

Nolan led the Greyhounds to three consecutive Memorial Cup tournament berths, winning the Canadian national junior championship in 1993.

He was hired before the 1994 regular season as an assistant coach by the Hartford Whalers for one season before accepting the position of head coach of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres where he had his best success.

In his second season in Buffalo, he led the team to a strong regular season, culminating in the Northeast Division title.

He was rewarded with the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach.

As a player, he skated for the Ontario Hockey Association's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the Kansas City Red Wings of the Central Hockey League, and the Adirondack Red Wings, Rochester Americans and Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League.

He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from the early through to the mid-1980s.

Ted and his wife Sandra are parents of Brandon, a 2003 4th round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks; and Jordan, a member of the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League.

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