Brian Nelson Hill (born January 12, 1957) is a Canadian-born Austrian former

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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played 19 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

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

during the 1979–80 season. He moved to Europe in 1980 and spent eight seasons playing in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

before retiring in 1988. While there Hill became an Austrian citizen and played for the Austrian national team at the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and 1987 World Championship B Pools.

Playing career

Hill played junior hockey in the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

for the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

, scoring 53 goals and 51 assists for 104 points in his final year in 1976-77. Hill was drafted 31st overall by the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

in the 1977 NHL amateur draft and 43rd overall by the

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft. Hill spent the next two seasons in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

for the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

before he was claimed in the

1979 NHL Expansion Draft The 1979 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 13, 1979. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the National Hockey League's new teams for the 1979–80 season: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. These ...

by the

. He would spend just one season in the Whalers organization, splitting his time with the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

, and played 19 games for the Whalers, scoring a goal and an assist. In 1980, Hill moved to the European leagues, with spells in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for

EV Füssen EV Füssen, previously also called the Füssen Leopards, is an ice hockey team from Germany. They play their home games at the ''Bundesleistungszentrum für Eishockey'' (BLZ-Arena), located in Füssen, Allgäu. They currently play in the third ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

for

VEU Feldkirch VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria. The team currently plays in the Ö Eishockey Liga. They Play Their Home Games At Vorarlberghalle. They formerly Play in the Austrian National League and Alps Hockey League. ...

and EHC Lustenau.

International play

Hill later obtained Austrian citizenship and represented them in the World Championship "B" Pool in 1986 and 1987. He had 5 points in 12 games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

* 1957 births Living people Atlanta Flames draft picks ATSE Graz players Austrian ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Estevan Bruins players EV Füssen players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Medicine Hat Tigers players New England Whalers draft picks Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan Springfield Indians players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players VEU Feldkirch players {{Austria-icehockey-bio-stub