Former Axemen Head Coach Coolen leading Latvia into the Olympics

RIGA/BUFFALO – Ted Nolan, the head coach of the Latvian national team, will also coach the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and combine both jobs for the remainder of the season.

The Sabres, currently the NHL team with the fewest points, announced on Wednesday that Nolan will replace Ron Rolston. For the Canadian coach it’s a comeback after coaching the Sabres to a 73-72-19 record between 1995 and 1997.

The Sabres signed an agreement with the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF), where Nolan has been under contract since 2011, which enables him to coach both teams.

“Ted Nolan is still under contract with the federation until the end of the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Nothing has changed. We have an agreement with Nolan and the Buffalo Sabres that he can combine both jobs,” said spokesman Maris Gorbunovs.

Nolan will continue to coach the Latvian national team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games when the NHL takes a break and during the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in May. After the end of the contract a new coach might be searched.

During the International Break in December when Latvia plays to exhibition games in Germany, Nolan will be replaced by his assistant coach Tom Coolen.

In Buffalo, Nolan will coach one of the biggest Latvian talents. Zemgus Girgensons plays his rookie season after having spent last season with the AHL affiliate Rochester Americans.

The former Acadia Axemen head coach, Tom Coolen was named by the Latvian Federation as an assistant to National Team head coach Ted Nolan back in Oct 31, 2012. The 59-year-old Canadian Tom Coolen coached in North America and Europe, included teams in DEL (Kaufbeuren), NLA (Ambri-Piotta and Lausanne), SM-Liiga (HIFK Helsinki) and EBEL (Feldkirch). “Coolen is in the world of hockey from more then 30-years, he will be a good assistant to Nolan and certainly strengthen the Latvian hockey staff” said LHF President Kirovs Lipmans.