Milwaukee, WI--Milwaukee Admirals head coach Claude Noel was named the new assistant coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League the Blue Jackets announced today.

“As I look forward to new challenges with the Columbus Blue Jackets, I would like to thank the Milwaukee Admirals fans, staff and media for their tremendous support during my time here. It's an emotional day that brings both sadness and joy. There are a lot of people to thank and I will cherish the relationships that we've had.”

Noel led the Admirals to four years of unprecedented success, including two trips to the Calder Cup Finals and a championship in 2004. In those four seasons he has accumulated an impressive 183-94-22-21 record, good for a .639 winning percentage. During his tenure the Admirals had the second most points in the American Hockey League and became just the fourth team in AHL history to post 100 or more points in three straight seasons.

The Kirkland, ON native was selected as the AHL’s coach of the year in 03-04 after he led the Ads to the league’s best regular season record and the Calder Cup Title, the only championship in team history. In addition, the team’s 49 wins in 2005-06 were the second most in Admirals’ history, while the 21 regulation losses set a franchise mark for the fewest in one campaign.

“We congratulate Claude on his new position with the Blue Jackets and thank him for the outstanding job he did in guiding our team over the past four seasons,” said Admirals Governor/CEO Harris Turer. “As evidenced by his achievements in Milwaukee, there is no doubt that he will have tremendous success as a coach in the NHL.”

Noel has spent eight of the last nine seasons in the Brew City, first as an assistant coach under Dave Allison from 1998-2002 and then as head coach beginning in the 03-04 season. He spent the 02-03 season as head coach for the Toledo Storm of the ECHL where he picked up the league’s Coach of the Year honors.

The 51-year old Noel also skated for the Admirals, notching eight goals and 24 assists in 1987-88 before beginning his coaching career.

The Admirals will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.