William J. Bowler (born September 25, 1974) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He played nine games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

during the 2000–01 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1995 to 2003, was spent in the minor leagues. He is currently the General Manager of the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Biography

As a youth, Bowler played in the 1988

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. In 1994–95, while playing for the

, Bowler was awarded the

Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy The Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the best overage player in the Ontario Hockey League, as selected by the teams' general managers. The trophy was donated by the trainers of the league in memory of Leo Lalonde, former chief ...

as the best overage player in the league. During four seasons with the Windsor Spitfires, from the 1991-92 season to the 1994–95 season, Bill Bowler set a franchise record for most career points, with 467 points. He also set the OHL record for most career assists, with 318. , both records still stand. On December 10, 2011, Bowler's number 9 was retired by the Windsor Spitfires - he was the eighth player in Windsor Spitfire history to have his jersey hung from the rafters. Bowler played nine games with the

in the 2000–01 season, recording two assists. In 2000–01, Bowler set a team record for the AHL's

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

with 58 assists, and tied the team record with 79 points (set in 1995–96 by

Lonny Bohonos Lonny W. Bohonos (born May 20, 1973) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger. He played most notably for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League and also appeared in several games for ...

. This record would be later be broken by

Carter Verhaeghe Carter Verhaeghe ( ; born August 14, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the third round, 82nd overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Mapl ...

in the 2018-19 season). Bowler also played professionally in the International Hockey League, and the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

. In 2015, Bowler entered his third season as general manager and head coach of the

LaSalle Vipers The LaSalle Vipers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. As a franchise, the Vipers are two-time Sutherland Cup provincial champ ...

. He had previously served as the general manager and head coach of the

Chatham Maroons The Chatham Maroons are a junior ice hockey team based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). The Maroons were the 1970 Western Ontario Junior A Champions and 1973 Sout ...

for two seasons. In July 2019, it was announced Bowler would take over for

Warren Rychel Warren Stanley Rychel (born May 12, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League. He was hired as the head coach of the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League in 2019. P ...

as General Manager of the

for the 2019-20 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey centres Columbus Blue Jackets players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Krefeld Pinguine players Las Vegas Thunder players Manitoba Moose (IHL) players Milwaukee Admirals players Norfolk Admirals players Ice hockey people from Toronto Syracuse Crunch players Undrafted National Hockey League players Windsor Spitfires players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1970s-stub