BRATISLAVA – The Slovak Ice Hockey Federation announced on Wednesday that Glen Hanlon will not return as the national team head coach. The announcement comes just days after the end of the 2011 World Championship, in which the host Slovak team won just two games and finished out of the playoff round.

Hanlon was the first foreign coach on the Slovak national team, and his departure comes way ahead of the end of his coaching contract, which was to run until the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. The federation’s executive committee will most likely name a successor after the Slovak Ice Hockey Association’s congress on June 10.

Hanlon was hired after the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver where Slovakia finished fourth, led by coach Jan Filc, who also led the national team to the historic 2002 World Championship title.

His first major assignment was the 2010 World Championship in Germany where Slovakia finished 12th. The final placement now recently in Bratislava was 10th, which means that Slovakia for the first time has slipped to 10th position in the IIHF World Ranking.

The top nine countries in the IIHF World Ranking will automatically qualify to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.