Bill Sutherland (ice hockey)

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For the American theoretical physicist, see T. Bill Sutherland.

Bill Sutherland
Born (1934-11-10)November 10, 1934
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died April 9, 2017(2017-04-09) (aged 82)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Philadelphia Flyers
Toronto Maple Leafs
St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1955–1974

William Fraser Sutherland (November 10, 1934 – April 9, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and a National Hockey League (NHL) coach. He played in the NHL for five teams between 1963 and 1972, and then in the World Hockey Association with the Winnipeg Jets between 1972 and 1974. After his playing career he briefly coached the Jets between 1980 and 1981. He scored the first goal in Philadelphia Flyers history in 1967 in a 1–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[1]

Playing career[edit]

Minor league career[edit]

Sutherland played two seasons with the St. Boniface Canadiens of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, scoring 60 points in 25 games during the 1954–55 season. He then embarked on a long minor league career, serving stints with the Cincinnati Mohawks, Montreal Royals, Cleveland Barons, and Quebec Aces. He made his NHL debut in 1963, playing two playoff games after a series of injuries to the Montreal Canadiens forward unit.[2]

NHL[edit]

The 1967 expansion gave Sutherland a chance to finally break into hockey's top league, as the Philadelphia Flyers purchased the Aces as their new top farm team and transferred Quebec's best players to the NHL squad. He scored the first goal in Flyers history on October 11, 1967. He became the first player in NHL history to score the first NHL goal in two arenas in the same season. He scored the first goal at the Long Beach Sports Arena in a 4–2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Five days later he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the first game at the Philadelphia Spectrum.[3]

The next season, the Minnesota North Stars selected Sutherland in the 1968 NHL Intra-League Draft. However, he never played for this franchise, and instead was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After 44 games with Toronto, he was traded back to the Flyers. He spent the next year as a Flyers starter, and he then scored an NHL career-high 39 points in 1970–71 with the St. Louis Blues. The next year, he saw limited playing time with the Blues and the Detroit Red Wings. He ended his playing career with the Winnipeg Jets during their World Hockey Association days.[3]

Coaching career[edit]

After retirement, Sutherland was involved with sports broadcasting until his hiring by the Jets as an assistant coach in 1979. After the firing of Tom McVie with three games left in the 1979–80 season, Sutherland became head coach. However, he was fired 29 games into the next season.[4]

Death[edit]

Sutherland died on April 9, 2017, at the age of 82.[5]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1952–53 St. Boniface Canadiens MJHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1953–54 St. Boniface Canadiens MJHL 25 25 18 43 42 10 5 12 17 14
1953–54 St. Boniface Canadiens M-Cup — — — — — 8 6 6 12 10
1954–55 St. Boniface Canadiens MJHL 25 25 35 60 33 — — — — —
1955–56 Cincinnati Mohawks IHL 53 25 31 56 24 — — — — —
1956–57 Cincinnati Mohawks IHL 58 27 26 53 30 7 1 1 2 4
1957–58 Cincinnati Mohawks IHL 60 55 39 94 43 — — — — —
1957–58 Shawinigan Falls Cataracts QSHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1958–59 Rochester Americans AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1958–59 Montreal Royals QSHL 47 27 16 43 32 7 7 3 10 13
1959–60 Montreal Royals EPHL 65 35 40 75 40 14 3 7 10 13
1960–61 Cleveland Barons AHL 58 19 14 33 30 4 0 0 0 12
1961–62 Cleveland Barons AHL 70 20 28 48 49 6 0 2 2 4
1962–63 Quebec Aces AHL 45 21 17 38 22 — — — — —
1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL — — — — — 2 0 0 0 0
1963–64 Quebec Aces AHL 49 22 33 55 32 9 2 7 9 22
1964–65 Quebec Aces AHL 58 25 35 60 50 5 3 2 5 6
1965–66 Quebec Aces AHL 48 24 25 49 24 6 3 3 6 2
1966–67 Quebec Aces AHL 67 40 38 78 27 5 3 4 7 4
1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 60 20 9 29 6 7 1 3 4 0
1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 7 5 12 14 — — — — —
1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 12 7 3 10 4 4 1 1 2 0
1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 51 15 17 32 30 — — — — —
1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 68 19 20 39 41 1 0 0 0 0
1971–72 St. Louis Blues NHL 9 2 3 5 2 — — — — —
1971–72 Detroit Red Wings NHL 5 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1971–72 Tidewater Wings AHL 40 6 10 16 26 — — — — —
1972–73 Winnipeg Jets WHA 48 6 16 22 34 14 5 9 14 9
1973–74 Winnipeg Jets WHA 12 4 5 9 6 4 0 0 0 4
WHA totals 60 10 21 31 40 18 5 9 14 13
NHL totals 250 70 58 128 99 14 2 4 6 0

Head coaching record[edit]

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Winnipeg Jets 1979–80 3 1 2 0 2 5th in Smythe Missed playoffs
Winnipeg Jets 1980–81 29 6 20 3 15 Fired —
NHL Totals 32 7 22 3 — — —

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bill Sutherland, a Flyers original, dies at 82". CSN Philly. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "Bill Sutherland Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "NHL Player Search - Player - Bill Sutherland". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  4. ^ "Bill Sutherland NHL & WHA Hockey Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "Flyers mourn the passing of Bill Sutherland". NHL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.

External links[edit]

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