Al MacNeil
Allister Wences " Al " MacNeil ( born September 27, 1935 in Sydney, Nova Scotia ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and - functionary, who in his active years from 1953 to 1970 among others for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Canadiens de Montréal, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins played in the National Hockey League. For his services in the American Hockey League, the Canadian was in 2014 honored with induction into the AHL Hall of Fame.
Career
Al MacNeil began his career as a hockey player with the Toronto Marlboros, for which he was active from 1953 to 1956 in the Junior League of the Ontario Hockey Association. He subsequently received a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, for which he gave towards the end of the 1955/56 season his debut in the National Hockey League. From 1956 to 1960 he was a regular for the Maple Leafs in the NHL and their all-new Farm Team Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League on. The 1960/61 season he spent with the Hull- Ottawa Canadiens in the Eastern Professional Hockey League. With his team, he immediately won the EPHL championship title. He was appointed to the First All -Star team in the league and voted the best defender of the season. Due to its impressive performance, he was appointed to the 1961/62 season in the squad of the Canadiens de Montréal from the NHL, their farm team was Hull- Ottawa.
From 1962 to 1966 MacNeil played for the NHL team Chicago Blackhawks. In the season 1966/67, he stood for the New York Rangers on the ice. He was then expansion draft in 1967 as the number of participants in the NHL was doubled from six to twelve in the NHL, selected by the league newcomer Pittsburgh Penguins. For the Penguins, he scored in the 1967/68 season in 74 games two goals and ten templates. In the 1968/69 season he was player-manager of the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League and in the season 1969/70 in the same position at the Voyageurs de Montréal from the American Hockey League. Then he ended his active career.
In the 1970/71 season, he was first an assistant, then head coach at his former club Canadiens de Montréal, which he led to win the prestigious Stanley Cups. Due to lack of French language skills and problems with the players but he was released despite the success of his duties and the new farm team the Canadiens, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the AHL, were added. In the six years in which MacNeil was head coach of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, he won this three times the Calder Cup (1972, 1976 and 1977 ) and even in the years 1972 and 1977 respectively to the Louis AR Pieri Award as the best coach of the AHL. From 1977 to 1979 he was working as Personnel Director of player for the Canadiens de Montréal and won in this function twice more with his team the Stanley Cup. For the season 1979/80 he received from the Atlanta Flames possibility as head coach in the NHL return. After relocation of the franchise, he was also for two years for the follow- Team Calgary Flames. Between 1988 and 2006, the Canadians worked as assistant to the general manager of the Calgary Flames and won in 1989 with the team also the Stanley Cup. In the season 2002/ 03 he was also as interim coach in eleven games during the NHL team the Flames behind the gang.