Background
Constantine, Kevin was born on December 27, 1958 in International Falls, Minnesota, United States.
Constantine, Kevin was born on December 27, 1958 in International Falls, Minnesota, United States.
He left RPI as a junior and finished his degree at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Constantine has coached hockey teams in the National Hockey League, IHL, and numerous major junior hockey leagues. He was also the former head coach of The Human Context Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League A.
Born in International Falls, Minnesota, Constantine was drafted as goaltender by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1978 National Hockey League Draft, and played six games of collegiate hockey for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New New York Constantine made a name for himself as a head coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s by guiding the Rochester Mustangs of the USHL and the Kansas City Blades of the IHL to winning records, as well as coaching the 1991 United States. National Junior team to its (then) best-ever record at the World Junior Championships.
Having found success at lower levels, he was hired as head coach of the San Jose Sharks for the 1993–1994 season: under his guidance, the team set an National Hockey League record for largest improvement by finishing 58 points higher in the standings than it had the previous season.
Between 1993 and 2002, Constantine would coach the Sharks, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils, earning a record of 159–153–66. He is the only coach in National Hockey League history to take two eighth-seeded teams to first-round Stanley Cup playoff upsets (San Jose over the Detroit Red Wings in 1994 and Pittsburgh over New Jersey in 1999).
In 2001, he founded the Pittsburgh Forge, a new entry in the NAHL. After the 2002–2003 season, Constantine left Pittsburgh to be hired by the WHL expansion team, the Everett Silvertips, while the Forge relocated to eventually become the present-day Corpus Christi IceRays. In their first year, the Silvertips broke the record for best season ever by a first-year team in the major junior hockey leagues (the WHL, OHL and QMJHL), winning the United States. Division Championship—they continued to set records, winning three straight playoff rounds to claim the Western Conference Championship and advance to the WHL Final against the Medicine Hat Tigers, where they lost 4–0.
On May 29, 2007, Constantine was named the head coach of the AHL"s Houston aeronautics
He quickly turned the performance of the Aeros around, leading them into the playoffs the next two seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2009. On April 15, 2010, it was announced that Constantine"s contract would not be renewed for the 2010–2011 season, after the Aeros again failed to make the playoffs for various reasons. On June 13, 2013, Constantine was introduced once again as the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, where he is reunited with the second Silvertips captain, Mitch Love, now an assistant coach.
Children: Mathew, Jeffrey, Nicholas.