Ron Kennedy

Ron Kennedy (May 7, 1953 - July 9, 2009) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach.

Early life
He was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Career
He played major junior hockey for the Estevan Bruins and the New Westminster Bruins from 1970 to 1973. The New York Islanders chose him 65th overall in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft and the Winnipeg Jets picked him 76th overall in the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.

Kennedy went with the Islanders and turned pro with their farm team, the Fort Worth Wings, in 1973-74. After three years in the minor pros, Kennedy went to Sweden for a year (1976-77). He stayed in Europe for most of the rest of his career, playing in Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria.

Coaching career
His coaching career included:
 * Medicine Hat Tigers (Western Hockey League). Won the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy in 1988-89.
 * Villach, Austria - won the Austrian championship in his first year (1992-1994)
 * New York Islanders assistant coach
 * EC Hannover, Eisbären Berlin and ERC Ingolstadt (Deutsche Eishockey Liga)
 * Head coach of the Austrian national team (1996-2002)
 * Villach, Austria (second time)
 * Innsbruck (Austria) and Bolzano (Italy)
 * Canadian national team coach for the 2006 Deutschland Cup

Awards & Achievements

 * Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy WHL Coach of the Year (1989)

Death
Ron Kennedy resigned after his December 2008 diagnosis of brain cancer, from which he died, aged 56, in Klagenfurt, Austria.