William Ronald McNeill(January 26, 1936 – August 31, 2007) was a Canadian professionalice hockeyplayer. He played in theNational Hockey Leaguewith theDetroit Red Wingsbetween 1956 and 1963. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1953 to 1971, was mainly spent in the minorWestern Hockey League.
| Billy McNeill | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Billy McNeill, North Vancouver, BC, standing over Gordie Howe c. 1965 | |||
| Born |
January 26, 1936 Edmonton,Alberta,Canada | ||
| Died |
August 31, 2007(aged 71) Surrey,British Columbia,Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 1953–1971 | ||
Early life
editMcNeill broke in with the local junior team, theEdmonton Oil Kingsin 1951. He also played 49 games in 1954-55 with theHamilton Tiger Cubsof theOntario Hockey Associationjunior league.
Professional career
editEdmonton and Detroit
editIn 1955 McNeill turned pro with the localEdmonton Flyersof theWHL,who played their games in the oldEdmonton Gardens.In 1956 McNeill was called up to theDetroit Red Wingsin theNHLfollowing serious injuries toAlex DelvecchioandBill Dineen.During the next eight seasons, he was called up from the Flyers six times, playing 257 games in the NHL.
On February 5, 1960, McNeill was to be traded to theNew York RangerswithRed KellyforBill GadsbyandEddie Shack,but Kelly and McNeill refused to report and the transaction was cancelled.[1]As a result, Kelly temporarily retired and McNeill was suspended for the rest of the season.New Yorkthen picked him up in theintra-league draftin June of that year, only to trade him back to Detroit in January 1961, who in turn assigned him back to the Flyers in Edmonton.[2]
In the six seasons he played for Detroit, he wore sweater numbers 19 and 15.[3]
Later WHL career
editIn January 1964, McNeill was traded by Detroit to theVancouver Canucks(of the WHL) for Barrie Ross and future considerations. In Vancouver he began six seasons with theCanuckswearing sweater number 16. He became an enduring star player and perennial fan favourite in thePNE Forumarena, winning the Leader Cup asMVPof theWHLtwo years' running, in 1965 and 1966. He was also selected to the WHL's First All-Star team both those years. He was known for his short stick with a rounded bottom to the blade.
His best season as a pro was 1965-'66 in Vancouver when he finished with 40 goals and 62 assists, both career highs. He tiedPortland'sArt Jonesfor second place in league scoring. He also had 6 goals and 13 points in the playoffs that year.
On August 19, 1969, he was traded by Vancouver to theSalt Lake Golden Eaglesfor Germain Gagnon and cash. He missed most of the 1969-70 season with an ankle injury suffered against Phoenix in November 1969. McNeill retired after the 1971 season while with theSan Diego Gulls,scoring 29 points in 64 games and appearing in six playoff games.
Assist on record-breaking goal
editMcNeill assisted onGordie Howe's (then) record-breaking 545th goal in November 1963.[4]
It was McNeill's first assist of the season. He told reporter Pat Curran that it was a "perfect goal." "Bill Gadsby was yelling at me on one side and Gordie was shouting on the other and telling me to take the lead out. He knew we had a three-on-two break. When I dumped the puck over he shot past (Canadiens' goalie Charlie) Hodge on the short side."[5]Montreal Canadiens' legendsJean BéliveauandJacques Laperrièrewere defending on the play.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1951–52 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCJHL | 42 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 41 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 1952–53 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WJHL | 36 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 59 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | ||
| 1952–53 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WJHL | 35 | 21 | 39 | 60 | 47 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 23 | ||
| 1953–54 | Edmonton Oil Kings | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 27 | ||
| 1954–55 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 49 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 66 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1954–55 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 68 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 35 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1957–58 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 31 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 54 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 12 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 23 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 26 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 68 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 19 | ||
| 1962–63 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 22 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 24 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 58 | 29 | 59 | 88 | 86 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1965–66 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 72 | 40 | 62 | 102 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 1966–67 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 41 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 19 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | WHL | 24 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 65 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 39 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| WHL totals | 507 | 186 | 325 | 511 | 454 | 37 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 19 | ||||
| NHL totals | 257 | 21 | 46 | 67 | 130 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
References
edit- ^Billy McNeill stats on hockey-reference.com
- ^Billy McNeill on Legendsofhockey.net
- ^legendsofhockey.netphotos of McNeill playing for Detroit
- ^Hockey hero Billy McNeill leaves a popular legacyArchived2012-03-29 at theWayback MachineVancouver Sun, Greg Douglas, September 1, 2007.
- ^Library and Archives CanadaArchived2012-10-08 at theWayback Machine- "Sawchuk blanks Habs 3-0", by Pat Curran
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL.com,orEliteprospects.com,orHockey-Reference.com,orThe Internet Hockey Database