William Ronald McNeill (January 26, 1936 – August 31, 2007) 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 ...

player. He played 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

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 ...

between 1956 and 1963. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1953 to 1971, was mainly spent in the minor

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

Early life

McNeill broke in with the local junior team, the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

in 1951. He also played 49 games in 1954-55 with the

Hamilton Tiger Cubs The Hamilton Tiger Cubs were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1953 to 1960. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario. History The Hamilton juniors which they were called initially in the early part of 1 ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

junior league.

Professional career

Edmonton and Detroit

In 1955 McNeill turned pro with the local

Edmonton Flyers The Edmonton Flyers are a defunct ice hockey team that was based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The team existed from 1940 until 1963. The Flyers played in the Edmonton Gardens. The Flyers were nominated by W. G. Hardy to represent Canada at the ...

of the WHL, who played their games in the old

Edmonton Gardens The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations. It was home to the World Hockey Associat ...

. In 1956 McNeill was called up to the

in the

NHL 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 ...

following serious injuries to

Alex Delvecchio Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio (born December 4, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings. In a playing career t ...

and

Bill Dineen William Patrick "Foxy" Dineen (September 18, 1932 – December 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and head coach. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1953 a ...

. During the next eight seasons, he was called up from the Flyers six times, playing 257 games in the NHL. On February 5, 1960, McNeill was to be traded to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

with

Red Kelly Leonard Patrick "Red" Kelly (July 9, 1927 – May 2, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He was also a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area riding of York West from 1962 to 1965, during which time he also ...

for

Bill Gadsby William Alexander Gadsby (August 8, 1927 – March 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1946 and 1966. P ...

and

Eddie Shack Edward Steven Phillip Shack (February 11, 1937July 25, 2020), also known by his nicknames "the Entertainer" and "the Nose", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent who played for six National Hockey League (NHL) teams ...

, but Kelly and McNeill refused to report and the transaction was cancelled. As a result, Kelly temporarily retired and McNeill was suspended for the rest of the season.

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

then picked him up in an intra-league draft in June of that year, only to trade him back to Detroit in January 1961, who in turn assigned him back to the Flyers in Edmonton. In the six seasons he played for Detroit, he wore sweater numbers 19 and 15.

Later WHL career

In January 1964, McNeill was traded by Detroit to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

(of the WHL) for Barrie Ross and future considerations. In Vancouver he began six seasons with the

Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

wearing sweater number 16. He became an enduring star player and perennial fan favourite in the

PNE Forum The Forum (also known as the Exhibition Forum, Vancouver Forum and PNE Forum) is an indoor arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada located on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition. Sports, Ice Hockey and the Canucks The building ...

arena, winning the Leader Cup as

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the WHL two years' running, in 1965 and 1966. He was also selected to the WHL's First All-Star team both those years. He was known for his short stick with a rounded bottom to the blade. His best season as a pro was 1965-'66 in Vancouver when he finished with 40 goals and 62 assists, both career highs. He tied

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

's Art Jones for second place in league scoring. He also had 6 goals and 13 points in the playoffs that year. On August 19, 1969, he was traded by Vancouver to the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

for Germain Gagnon and cash. He missed most of the 1969-70 season with an ankle injury suffered against Phoenix in November 1969. McNeill retired after the 1971 season while with the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

, scoring 29 points in 64 games and appearing in six playoff games.

Assist on record-breaking goal

McNeill assisted on

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

's (then) record-breaking 545th goal in November 1963. It was McNeill's first assist of the season. He told reporter Pat Curran that it was a "perfect goal." "Bill Gadsby was yelling at me on one side and Gordie was shouting on the other and telling me to take the lead out. He knew we had a three-on-two break. When I dumped the puck over he shot past (Canadiens' goalie Charlie) Hodge on the short side."Library and Archives Canada
- "Sawchuk blanks Habs 3-0", by Pat Curran

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 ...

' legends

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Ho ...

and

Jacques Laperrière Joseph Jacques Hughes Laperrière (born November 22, 1941) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Laperrière played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1962 until 1974, winning six Stanley C ...

were defending on the play.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcneill, Billy 1936 births 2007 deaths Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Hamilton Tiger Cubs players Ice hockey people from Alberta Pittsburgh Hornets players Rochester Americans players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL) players San Diego Gulls (WHL) players Sportspeople from Edmonton Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players