Geoff Ward

From the classroom to Calgary Flames Head Coach, here's what you need to know about the Flames' interim bench boss.

A native of Waterloo, Ont., Ward actually started his coaching career at the University of Waterloo as an assistant coach under Don Mckee from 1989 to 1992.

He has head coaching experience in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), ECHL (East Coast Hockey league), AHL (American Hockey league) and DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga).

Ward began his coaching experience with Waterloo before becoming an assistant coach with the Niagara Falls Thunder of the Ontario Hockey League for the 1992-93 season. After six seasons in the OHL — five as a head coach, including four with the Kitchener Rangers — Ward hit the ECHL in the 1999-00 season with the Arkansas RiverBlades.

In 2001 he made his AHL head-coaching debut with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal and Edmonton's AHL affiliate. He won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for the AHL's coach of the year after the 2002-03 season with Hamilton.

Breaking onto the NHL scene as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins in 2007-08, Ward spent his first seven NHL seasons with the B's where he won the Stanley Cup in 2011. He would then travel down to New Jersey and serve on the Devils' bench for three seasons before leaving for his most recent role as associate coach of the Flames ahead of the 2018-19 season. His promotion comes just over one season into his Calgary tenure, giving him his first gig as an NHL head coach.

Appearances

Bring the excitement of the NHL and the cache of a NHL celebrity to your events, golf tournaments or corporate dinners by having Geoff Ward act as your host, emcee or engage in a meet and greet.  As a local native to Waterloo, Ontario, his ties to his community, success in the big leagues and his compelling, personal stories make Geoff a great speaker, as well.

Hockey Stories - Life in the NHL

What’s it really like to run a professional NHL team?  Look behind the boards to hear tales from the bench, locker room and about the players themselves.  This unique insight will provide you with lessons on goal setting, the winning edge sprinkled with humor and stories that you won’t hear anywhere else!

Leadership

What does it take to win a Stanley Cup?  Success in the NHL parallels success in business.  Learn from the greatest sports leaders today on how they lead their business and, as importantly, deal with setbacks to refocus on meeting their end goals. 

Motivating Millennials

One of the hottest debates today is “How do you motivate Millennials to drive your business forward?”  Hear from one of the best NHL Coaches, who take a different group of Millennials each year and motivate them to the reach their highest performance both individually and as a team.