William Stewart MacMillan (born March 7, 1943) is a Canadian former hockey coach and player. MacMillan played and later coached 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 ...

(NHL). After several years with the Canadian national team, including playing at two

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

, winning a bronze medal, MacMillan made his NHL debut in 1970 with 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 ...

. He played for Toronto, 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 ...

, and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

between 1970 and 1977, and retired from playing in 1978. He became a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

during his final year, spent in the minor CHL and moved to the NHL in 1979 when he became an assistant coach for the Islanders. He was named the head coach of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in 1980, also serving as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

the next season. MacMillan stayed with the team as they relocated in 1982 to become the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, and was let go early in the 1983–84 season. Billy is the brother of

Bob MacMillan Robert Lea MacMillan (born December 3, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and a former politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. During his hockey career, he played two seasons in the World ...

Early career

MacMillan grew up in Prince Edward Island and excelled at a variety of sports, including hockey, rugby, and track. He left home as a teenager for the more fertile hockey ground of Ontario. He appeared in three

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

tournaments with the powerful St. Michael's Majors junior team. He later played university hockey at the now merged

Saint Dunstan's University :''St. Andrew's College, Prince Edward Island'' redirects to here. St. Dunstan's University (SDU) is a former university which was located on the northern outskirts of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. SDU merged with Prince of Wales ...

, after returning to PEI to complete his academic studies. He subsequently appeared in various minor leagues.

NHL career

A powerful body checker and solid defensive forward, MacMillan was a late bloomer who did not make an NHL roster until age 27. He scored a surprising 22 goals as a rookie with the

, but saw his playing time reduced the next season. He was selected in the 1972 expansion draft by the

, playing in a checking role with the team during its inaugural season. He was then traded to the

, where he played for an additional four years. After failing to make the NHL roster in 1977, he played one year with the

Fort Worth Texans The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They started play in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. They were part of the Central Hockey League and played t ...

before retiring.

Coaching career

MacMillan was hired as an assistant coach by

Al Arbour Alger Joseph Arbour (November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He is third to Joel Quenneville for games coached in National Hockey League history and fifth all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowm ...

with the New York Islanders for the 1979-80 season, and he helped lead this franchise to its first

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. The next season, he was hired by the

to serve a dual role as general manager and head coach. After one season, he was relieved of his coaching duties, but after the team moved and became the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he returned to a capacity behind the bench. He was fired 20 games into the following season. In 1985, Billy MacMillan was inducted into the

PEI Sports Hall of Fame PEI or Pei may refer to: Places *Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia, IATA code PEI *Pei County (沛县), Jiangsu, China *Pei Commandery (沛郡), a commandery in Chinese history *Prince Edward Island, a province of Canada *Pei, T ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Billy 1943 births Living people Atlanta Flames players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of Scottish descent Colorado Rockies (NHL) Colorado Rockies (NHL) coaches Fort Worth Texans players Ice hockey people from Prince Edward Island Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Memorial Cup winners New Jersey Devils coaches New Jersey Devils executives New York Islanders coaches New York Islanders players Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Rhode Island Reds players Sportspeople from Charlottetown Stanley Cup champions Sudbury Wolves (EPHL) players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players