Gary Prior

Gary Prior
Date of birth	November 13, 1957
size	181 cm
Weight	78 kg
position	striker
Career stations
1976-1988	University of Pennsylvania
1978-1980	University of Vermont
1980-1982	Augsburg EV
1984-1986	Ketterä Imatra

Gary Prior (born November 13, 1957 ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and current ice hockey coach . During his active time he played at Augsburg EV in the 2nd Bundesliga ice hockey . Prior looked after this club from 1995 to 1998 in the German Ice Hockey League .

Player career

The 1.81 m tall striker was on the ice during his college years for the teams of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Vermont in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and then moved to the Augsburg EV in the third-class German ice hockey league . In the first season together, the Canadian was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga with Bayern, but finally left the club at the end of the 1981/82 season . Prior ended his active career in 1985 with the Finnish second division club Ketterä Imatra .

Coaching career

The Canadian initially stayed as a coach in Finland, where he coached his club Ketterä Imatra for the next two years. In the 1988/89 season, Prior Saimaan Pallo trained from the first-class SM-liiga and signed a contract for the following season in neighboring Norway with Hasle Lören Oslo from the second-highest division. In 1990 the former striker returned to Imatra Ketterä for a year and finally looked after league rivals IFK Pietarsaari until 1993 . After a year-long engagement with the Finnish third division club from Kuusamo , Gary Prior signed a contract as assistant coach for the Augsburg team, which has now been renamed Panther .

In October 1995, the Canadian took over the head coach of the Augsburg Panthers, with whom he was able to secure relegation the next year. In early February 1998, the club separated from Prior, who then replaced Craig Sarner as coach of the Heilbronner EC in the 2nd Bundesliga in November . When the HEC ran the risk of missing the championship round in the 1999/00 season , the Canadian resigned from his position. In the 2000/01 season he was head coach at the Italian club WSV Sterzing Broncos . In November 2001 Prior took over SC Bietigheim-Bissingen , but was then replaced by Markus Berwanger in the 2002/03 season . With the EHC Munich , the former attacker took first place in the 2004/05 season after the preliminary round of the major league, as a runner-up he ultimately rose to the second division with the EHC. After a solid first year in the second division, Gary Prior resigned as Munich's head coach in 2006 and then stood behind the gang in the play-offs of the second highest Swiss league, National League B , at SC Langenthal . After the club's early quarter-finals, the Canadian resigned from his post. In the 2009/10 season he replaced Brian de Bruyn at HYS The Hague in the Dutch ice hockey league and promptly became champions with them in 2010/11. In 2011/12, however, he changed teams again and became head coach at EHC Lustenau in the Austrian National League . In December 2012 he was hired as head coach for the Italian second division club HC Gherdëina . Since September 2013 he has been the head coach of the LA Stars of the Okanagan Hockey Academy Europe from St. Pölten, Austria, where he is responsible for the development of young talents between the ages of 14 and 19.

Stations

• 1986–1988: Ketterä Imatra
• 1988-1989: Saimaan Pallo
• 1989–1990: Hasle Lören Oslo
• 1990-1991: Ketterä Imatra
• 1991-1993: IFK Pietarsaari
• 1993-1994: Kuusamo
• 1994–1995: Augsburger Panther (assistant trainer)
• 1995–1998: Augsburger Panther
• 1998-2000: Heilbronner EC
• 2000–2001: WSV Sterzing Broncos
• 2001–2002: SC Bietigheim-Bissingen
• 2004–2006: EHC Munich
• 2007: SC Langenthal
• 2009-2011: HYS The Hague
• 2011–2012: EHC Lustenau
• 2012–2013: HC Gherdëina
• since 2013: Okanagan Hockey Club Europe (Okanagan Hockey Academy Europe)

Web links

• Gary Prior at eliteprospects.com (English)
• Gary Prior at eurohockey.com
• Gary Prior at hockeydb.com (English)