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Southampton chairman Krueger to coach Team Europe at World Cup

Southampton v Bayer Leverkusen - Pre Season Friendly

Southampton v Bayer Leverkusen - Pre Season Friendly

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Team Europe -- a squad comprised of players from European countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden -- has announced that former Edmonton bench boss Ralph Krueger, currently the boss at Barclays Premier League outfit Southampton, will be its head coach at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Krueger, 56, comes to the job with a wide and colorful resume. The former head coach of the Swiss National team, he spent one year behind the Oilers’ bench -- during the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign -- before getting fired, which led to an interesting career change.

In February of 2014, Krueger was named club director at Southampton and, a short while later, was promoted to chairman. The club has achieved great success on his watch; last year, the Saints finished seventh in the BPL, its highest-ever Premier League rank, and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.

This isn’t to say, however, that Krueger has lost touch with his hockey roots -- while at Southampton, he captured an Olympic gold medal as a consultant for Team Canada in Sochi.

Aiding Krueger at the World Cup will be longtime NHLer Miroslav Satan, who will serve as Team Europe GM. German Ice Hockey Federation president Franz Reindl will act as team president.