It’s a long road from North End Halifax to the NHL. It’s an even longer road to the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. But these are roads Tom Coolen has traveled, and he vividly remembers how it all began…

“When I was in elementary school, St. Pat’s Boys School on Brunswick Street, I was the only kid that played minor hockey, and I didn’t start until I was 10 years old. No one was playing hockey at my school. I think it was the economics of it. We weren’t a rich school, believe me. But I was able to play, and I just fell in love with the game. Truth be told, I loved every sport I tried.”

Great friend and fellow legendary coach, Danny Flynn, remembers Coolen as a truly exceptional athlete.

“He was a Canada Games third baseman, he was a running back at Dalhousie, he played varsity hockey at Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s,” recalls Flynn. “I remember one day he ran for 100 yards in the afternoon for Dal football and scored 2 goals that night for the hockey team. You’ll never see that again in our lifetime.”

As skilled as Coolen was, he had the self-awareness to realize that a pro career in hockey was unlikely. So, he began to focus on what he saw as the next best thing to playing. While studying for a master’s degree in physical education at UNB, Coolen sought out an assistant coaching position with the Varsity Reds hockey team.

“You know, I always enjoyed the camaraderie of a dressing room,” remembers Coolen. “Coaching was just a natural next step. I was a hard-working guy, I had good people skills, and I realized I could use those skills as a coach. I also had a real appreciation for what a good, caring coach could mean to a young person. If you can provide some direction and a good honest focus, these players are all ears. Coaches can have an amazing influence on a young student athlete’s life.”

“It’s a people business,” adds Danny Flynn. “You’re managing people, you’re trying to get the most out of people. He’s got such a good way about him and a good spirit. He gets people to buy in to what he’s trying to sell them and makes them feel good about their job.”

No surprise then that it took just 2 years for Coolen to go from assistant coach at UNB to head coach at Acadia. He would lead the Axemen for 8 memorable seasons, winning three AUAA championships and in 1993, the school’s first-ever CIAU title, which was the first national men’s hockey championship ever won by a university from Nova Scotia.

“I loved Wolfville and loved Acadia,” Coolen remember. “We were able to bring in some really good players and just get better year by year. We were good, then we were better, then we were the best! We would pack that rink down in Wolfville. They would come from Halifax to watch us play. Heck, they’d come from as far away as Yarmouth. Those were great, great years.”

Coolen left Acadia in 1995 and since then has coached all over the world, including in Saint John, NB, with the Calgary Flames AHL farm team; the University of New Brunswick – winning another AUS championship; in the QMJHL with the Moncton Wildcats and several years in the Elite leagues of Europe.

He had coaching stints at the IIHF World Championships in Finland and Belarus, and in 2014, was assistant coach with Team Latvia at the Sochi Olympics…

“That, to me, is the highlight of my career, going to those Olympics,” says Coolen. “We had to beat the Swiss, who were a top team in the world, to make the quarterfinals, and we did. And then in quarters, we gave Canada a huge scare. It was 1-1 late in the game when Shea Weber scored a power play goal. That Canadian team had Crosby, Toews, Tavares, St. Louis, Price… and we almost beat them! It was amazing to be a part of that emotional rollercoaster.”

From the Olympics in Sochi, Coolen moved to the NHL as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres. He was there for just a year, but clearly remembers how he felt behind the bench for his very first game…

“You have to realize – I grew up at Princess Place on the corner of Cunard and Robie, and didn’t start playing hockey until I was 10,” says Coolen. “If you had told me then that someday I would coach in the National Hockey League, I would have said, ‘No way, not a chance.’ People always talk about living a dream. Well, I feel like I have.

Just think of what this life has given me. I love history, geography and most of all, I love people. Coaching hockey has been the perfect fit for a guy with my personality and interests.  I’ve had the chance to see the entire world and experience the highest levels of a sport that I love. You know, a wise man once said, ‘Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ Well, I’m nearly 69 years old, and I can tell you – there haven’t been too many days where it felt like I was going to work!”

***Tom Coolen continues to coach professional hockey in Europe. He was inducted as a builder into the Acadia Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.***