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Jeffrey "Jeff" Tomlinson (born April 23, 1970) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey coach. He is currently the head coach of the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, a second-division team from Switzerland.
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Playing career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tomlinson played for the Prince Albert Raiders, the Roanoke Valley Rebels and the Raleigh Icecaps, before taking his game to Germany in 1992. After almost five years with EC Timmendorfer Strand, he had a short stint with the Berlin Capitals of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga during the 1996-97 season and then would spend the following three years in England, playing for Manchester Storm.
In 2000, Tomlinson came back to the German capital city, signing with Eisbären Berlin, where he would stay for the remainder of his playing tenure. After suffering a torn ACL in November 2002, he tried to come back to the game, but decided to end his playing career in 2004.
Coaching career
Tomlinson started his career behind the bench at the Eisbären Berlin organization, serving as head coach of the club’s youth team, Eisbären Berlin Juniors, between 2004 and 2007. He then served as an assistant coach of Eisbären Berlin in the German elite league Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) until 2010. In July 2010, Tomlinson was appointed head coach of fellow DEL-side Düsseldorfer EG and would guide the team to back-to-back playoff appearances. He moved to the Nürnberg IceTigers for the 2012-13 season, but was sacked in December 2012. Under his guidance, the IceTigers had suffered defeat in 15 of 25 games played.
In July 2013, he returned to Eisbären Berlin, taking over as head coach on a two-year contract. He was released in December 2014 and replaced by Uwe Krupp.
In June 2015, Tomlinson agreed on a one-year deal with Swiss team Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. Later that year, he inked a contract extension through the 2017-18 campaign. He guided the Lakers to the 2016 NLB finals, where they fell short to HC Ajoie.
Coaching internationally
Tomlinson served as head coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team at the 2014 Deutschland-Cup and was part of the coaching staff for Germany’s Men’s National Team during the 2015 World Championships, serving as assistant to head coach Pat Cortina.