William Fraser Sutherland (November 10, 1934 – April 9, 2017) was a Canadian 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 ...

and a

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 ...

(NHL) coach. He played in the NHL for five teams between 1963 and 1972, and then in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

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 The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

history in 1967 in a 1–0 victory over the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Playing career

Minor league career

Sutherland played two seasons with the

St. Boniface Canadiens The St. Boniface Canadiens was a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team that operated from 1952-1964. The St. Boniface Canadiens won 4 Turnbull Cup Championships as Manitoba Junior Champions, 1953, 1954, 1956, & 1958. The franchise was founded i ...

of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

, 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 The Cincinnati Mohawks was the name of two professional ice hockey teams in Cincinnati, Ohio who played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. The first Mohawks' club were members of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1949 and 1952 whil ...

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

, and

Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. History The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces stan ...

. He made his NHL debut in 1963, playing two playoff games after a series of injuries to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

forward unit.

NHL

The 1967 expansion gave Sutherland a chance to finally break into hockey's top league, as the

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 The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...

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. The next season, the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

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 The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. 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 St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. The next year, he saw limited playing time with the Blues and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He ended his playing career with the

during their

days.

Coaching career

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 Thomas McVie (born June 6, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach in the National Hockey League. McVie grew up in a poor family, and, upon signing his first junior league contract, is said to have left home with a single used st ...

with three games left in the 1979–80 season, Sutherland became head coach. However, he was fired 29 games into the next season.

Death

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

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Head coaching record

Awards

MJHL The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

Second Team All-Star (1955) * IHL goal scoring leader (1958) * IHL Second All-Star Team (1958) * Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named an ...

References

External links

*
Profile at Flyers History

Bill Sutherland's biography
at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Bill 1934 births 2017 deaths Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Cincinnati Mohawks (IHL) players Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Detroit Red Wings players Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Royals (EPHL) players Montreal Royals (QSHL) players Philadelphia Flyers players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Rochester Americans players Shawinigan-Falls Cataracts (QSHL) players Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan St. Boniface Canadiens players St. Louis Blues players Tidewater Wings players Toronto Maple Leafs players Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) coaches Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players