Corey Neilson

Corey Neilson (born on August 22, 1976 in Oromocto, Canada) is a retired Canadian-British ice hockey defenceman. He was selected 53rd overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

Club career
Neilson began his junior career with the Fredericton Caps U18 AAA of the NBMAAAHL. In 1993 - 1995, he played with the North Bay Centennials of the OHL. In the 1993-94 season, he became the OHL champion and made it into the OHL First All-Rookie Team.

Neilson also began the 1995-96 season with the North Bay Centennials of the OHL but after 14 games played, he moved to the Detroit Jr. Whalers of the OHL where he finished the season with 50 regular season games and 17 play-off games played.

In the 1996-97 season played Neilson with the Barrie Colts of the OHL.

In 1997-98 season, Neilson played 62 regular season games and 17 play-off games with the Quad City Mallards of the UHL and 5 games with the Portland Pirates of the AHL. In this season, he became the UHL champion and made it into the UHL Rookie All-Star Team.

Next season spent Neilson with the EC Timmendorfer Strand of the Oberliga.

In 1999 - 2002, Neilson played with the Louisiana IceGators of the ECHL.

Neilson moved for the 2002-03 season to the Elmira Jackals of the UHL where he played 72 regular season games and 8 play-off games. In this season, he also played 4 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

In 2003 - 2005, Neilson played with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL. In the 2003-04 season, he was the defenceman who recorded most assists (59) in the ECHL and was named the ECHL Player of the Week on October 27 - November 2, 2003, the ECHL Defenceman of the Year and made it into the ECHL First All-Star Team. In the following 2004-05 season, he was again the defenceman who recorded most assists (44) in the ECHL, was named the ECHL Player of the Week on March 28 - April 3, 2005 and made it into the ECHL Second All-Star Team.

Neilson also began the 2005-06 season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL but after 32 games played, he moved to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL where he finished the season with 40 regular season games and 5 play-off games played.

Since 2006, Neilson played with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL until his retirment after the end of the 2012-13 season. In the 2006-07 season, he became the EIHL Play-off champion. In the 2007-08 season, he scored most points (14) among all participating players at the EIHL Cup and became the EIHL Cup champion and also made it into the EIHL All-Star Second Team. In the 2008-09 season, Neilson was the defenceman who scored most points (62) and most assists (47) in the EIHL and made it again into the EIHL All-Star Second Team. In the following season, he became the EIHL Cup champion and made it into the EIHL All-Star Second Team for the third time in a row. In the 2010-11 season, he was the defenceman who recorded most assists (47) and points (56) in the EIHL, became the EIHL Play-off champion and the EIHL Cup champion and made it into the EIHL All-Star Second Team for the fourth time in a row. In the 2011-12 season, he was again the defenceman who recorded most assists (42) in the EIHL, became the EIHL Cup champion, the EIHL Play-off champion and made it into the EIHL All-Star First Team. Finally, in the 2012-13 season, he became the EIHL champion, the EIHL Cup champion and the EIHL Play-off champion.

The Nottingham Panthers retired Neilson's number 77 jersey alongside some of the Panthers legends of the past. Neilson became the 5th player to have his jersey retired by the club.

International career
Neilson played with the British National Team at the 2011 World Championship Division I (winning there silver) and at the 2012 World Championship Division IA (where he was the most penalized (31) player of the tournament).

As the assistant coach, he participated with the British National Team at the 2014 and 2017 World Championships Division IB (winning gold at the 2017 tournament), 2018 World Championship Division IA (winning there gold) and at the 2019 World Championship.