Harry Neale
Born (1937-03-09) March 9, 1937
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Coached for Minnesota Fighting Saints
New England Whalers
Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings

Harold Watson Neale[1] (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Neale got his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, where he also taught social studies and physical education.[2]

In 1966, he replaced Glen Sonmor at Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he was a physical fitness trainer for the Ohio State football team. He coached the Buckeyes for four seasons compiling a 49-48-3 record. He left Ohio State in 1970 to coach junior hockey in Hamilton.

Neale was hired as assistant coach of the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA in 1972. He replaced Sonmor again as head coach late in the 1972–73 season. He remained head coach until the Fighting Saints franchise folded during the 1975–76 season. Following Minnesota, Neale remained in the WHA as head coach of the New England Whalers for two seasons from 1976 to 1978. He coached the Whalers to the Avco Cup Finals where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets. Between stints at Minnesota and New England, Neale was an assistant coach for the U.S. team in the 1976 Canada Cup.

Hired by the Vancouver Canucks in 1978, Neale coached the Canucks for almost four seasons. Late in the 1981–82 season, Neale was involved in an altercation with fans during a game in Quebec City against the Nordiques and was suspended for ten games. Assistant coach Roger Neilson was promoted to interim coach during the suspension. When the Canucks went unbeaten in the next 10 games, he was given the job full-time as the team advanced to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. At season's end, Neale was promoted to general manager (an arrangement made prior to the suspension).[3][4][5]

Neale returned to the Canucks bench in January 1984 after firing Neilson[6] and again in November 1984 after firing Bill LaForge twenty games into the season.[7] The Canucks fired Neale from his posts as vice president, general manager, and head coach in April 1985.[8]

The Detroit Red Wings hired Neale prior to the 1985–86 season.[9] However, after a poor start, Neale was fired after 35 games.[10]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Ohio State Buckeyes (Independent) (1966–1970)
1966–67 Ohio State 10–10–0
1967–68 Ohio State 9–13–2
1968–69 Ohio State 11–18–0
1969–70 Ohio State 19–7–1
Total:49–48–3

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

WHA

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsFinishResult
Minnesota Fighting Saints1972–73 191090(73)4th in WestLost in semi-finals
Minnesota Fighting Saints1973–74 7642322862nd in WestLost in semi-finals
Minnesota Fighting Saints1974–75 7742323873rd in WestLost in semi-finals
Minnesota Fighting Saints1975–76 5930254644th in West(team folded)
New England Whalers1975–76 12561(73)3rd in EastLost in semi-finals
New England Whalers1976–77 8135406764th in EastLost in semi-finals
New England Whalers1977–78 8044315932nd in WHALost in Avco Cup Finals

NHL

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsFinishResult
Vancouver Canucks1978–79 80254213632nd in SmytheLost in preliminary round
Vancouver Canucks1979–80 80273716703rd in SmytheLost in preliminary round
Vancouver Canucks1980–81 80283220763rd in SmytheLost in preliminary round
Vancouver Canucks1981–82 75263316(77)2nd in Smythe(suspended)
Vancouver Canucks1983–84 3215134(73)3rd in SmytheLost in Division Semi-finals
Vancouver Canucks1984–85 6021327(59)5th in SmytheMissed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings1985–86 358234(40)5th in Norris(fired)
Total44215021280

Broadcast career

During his coaching and managerial career, he sometimes worked for Hockey Night in Canada as a guest analyst in the playoffs, in the event his team missed the playoffs or was eliminated from Stanley Cup contention. He then began working as a broadcaster full-time in 1986, where he was teamed with play-by-play man Bob Cole on CBC. Together, the pair broadcast 20 Stanley Cup Finals, the 1998, 2002, 2006 Winter Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and 2004 World Cup of Hockey for CBC. In the playoffs, when Cole was working with other colour commentators, he also worked with Don Wittman, Chris Cuthbert, and Jim Hughson. During this time, he also provided colour commentary for locally televised Toronto Maple Leafs games, pairing up with play-by-play broadcasters Jim Hughson, Ken Daniels, Jiggs McDonald, and Joe Bowen.[11] In addition, Neale occasionally worked on Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames broadcasts. He left the Toronto telecasts after the 2006–07 season to join the Buffalo Sabres broadcast team.[12][13]

He is known for the same sense of humour he was famous for as a coach, often referring to the puck as "..bouncing like an Indian Rubber (lacrosse) ball", as well as for his estimations of exact distances on the ice.

At the gold medal game of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City between Canada and the United States, after Joe Sakic scored Canada's fifth goal with 1:20 remaining, he replied to his partner, Bob Cole's call as, "That's more than enough. Take a look at the Canadian bench. If you doubt by what I say, that's more than enough."

Neale spent five seasons, from 2007–08 to 2011–12, as the colour commentator for the Buffalo Sabres serving alongside Rick Jeanneret, a personal friend of Neale's and fellow Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner.[14] He spent the 2012–13 season as a studio analyst for the Sabres' pregame show and intermission reports.[15]

During the 2013–14 season, Neale served as a colour commentator for Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts on Leafs TV. He retired at the end of the 2013–14 season.[16]

On March 25, 2022, Neale served as a colour commentator for the Buffalo Sabres, once again alongside Rick Jeanneret in a guest appearance, for a game involving the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals during the first and second periods.[17]

Honours

In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the coaching category.[18]

In 2013, Neale received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and thus was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame.[19]

Personal life

Neale grew up in Sarnia, Ontario and moved to East Amherst, New York in 1987.[2] He has five children.

References

  1. ↑ Marquis Who's Who on the Web
  2. 1 2 Vogl, John (April 1, 2017). "At age 80, hockey is still funny business for Harry Neale". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ Graham, Adam. "Vancouver Canucks: The Three Best and Three Worst Coaches in Franchise History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Crowe, Jerry (April 5, 1991). "Kings Can Consult History Book, Not Webster : NHL playoffs: Canucks went all the way to Stanley Cup finals without Neale in 1982". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Josh. "Tales From Behind The Bench: The Bizarre Genius of Roger Neilson". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Vancouver coach Roger Neilson was fired after the Canucks... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ "The Vancouver Canucks fired rookie coach Bill Laforge Wednesday... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  8. ↑ Rockingham, Graham. "The Vancouver Canucks fired coach and general manager Harry... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Wings Choose Neale (Published 1985)". June 25, 1985. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ Tripi, Bob. "The Detroit Red Wings fired Coach Harry Neale today... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ "After 20 years Harry Neale still finds something to like about each NHL game". The Hockey News. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  12. ↑ "HARRY NEALE JOINS SABRES BROADCAST TEAM". NHL.com. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ Zelkovich, Chris (October 1, 2007). "Neale's shuffling off to Buffalo". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ Sports, CBC (June 11, 2013). "Hockey Hall honours Harry Neale, longtime Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster".
  15. ↑ John Vogl (June 11, 2012). "Sabres shuffle team in broadcast booth". The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  16. ↑ http://video.mapleleafs.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=802&id=444420&lang=en Harry Neale Announcement – September 15, 2013. Joe Bowen breaks the news that Harry Neale will be joining the Leafs TV broadcast team. September 15, 2013,
  17. ↑ ""Reunited! Catch Harry Neale in the booth with RJ during the first period."". Instagram. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ "WHA Hall of Fame Members". www.whahof.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  19. ↑ Vogl, John (June 11, 2013). "Sabres' Neale follows Jeanneret into Hockey Hall of Fame as Foster Hewitt winner". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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