Vernon Keith McCreary (June 19, 1940 – December 9, 2003) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
left 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 ...
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 ...
who played for 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Playing career
As property of the Montreal Canadiens, McCreary spent a seven years in the minor league system only promoted for a single playoff game in 1962 and 9 games during the 1964–65 season. During this time he was a top scorer for the
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were a semi-professional ice hockey franchise from 1959 until 1963.
History
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were formed as members of the Eastern Professional Hockey League in 1959. The professional team was granted to the are ...
.
He became an NHL regular with 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 ...
following the
1967 NHL Expansion. In 1972, he was claimed 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 Expansion Draft and was designated the franchise's first captain. McCreary retired following the 1974–75 season after 532
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 ...
games. He recorded a total of 131 goals and 116 assists during his
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 ...
career.
McCreary played for 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...
,
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were a semi-professional ice hockey franchise from 1959 until 1963.
History
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were formed as members of the Eastern Professional Hockey League in 1959. The professional team was granted to the are ...
, and
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 ...
.
His brother,
Bill McCreary Sr.
William Edward McCreary Sr. (December 2, 1934 – November 25, 2019) was an ice hockey left winger, coach and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Lou ...
, was also an NHL left winger.
Life and retirement
McCreary is the brother of
Bill McCreary Sr.
William Edward McCreary Sr. (December 2, 1934 – November 25, 2019) was an ice hockey left winger, coach and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Lou ...
, the uncle of
Bill McCreary Jr.
William Edward McCreary Jr. (born April 15, 1960) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 12 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1980–81 season. The rest of his career, which laste ...
and
Bob Attwell
Robert Allan Attwell (born December 26, 1959) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 22 games in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Rockies between 1979 and 1981.
Personal life
Attwell was born in Spok ...
, and the brother-in-law of
Ron Attwell
Ronald Allan Attwell (February 9, 1935 – December 4, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 22 games in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers during the 1967–68 season. The rest of h ...
.
He was elected as Regional councillor for Caledon in 1978, eventually losing in the 1988 election against Carol Seglins, who would later become Mayor of Caledon.
[Bruce Campion-Smith, "Frank Bean's long term goal: to lead Peel into next decade", ''The Toronto Star'', 22 November 1988, 12 West.] He stood for consideration in 1991, as a candidate for the appointed role of Regional Chair.
Emil Kolb won.
McCreary joined the NHL Alumni Association and was the Association's chairman. He died after a long bout with cancer at the age of 63. He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in
Bolton, Ontario
Bolton (2021 population 26,795) is an unincorporated village that is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, Ontario. It is located beside the Humber River in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto. In r ...
.
His
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 ...
jersey is on display at the
Hockey Hall of Fame
, logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg
, logo_upright = 0.5
, image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg
, caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992
, map_type =
, former_name =
, established = 1943
, location = 30 Y ...
.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards
*EPHL First All-Star Team (1962)
*EPHL Second All-Star Team (1963)
Transactions
*June 6, 1967 – Claimed by 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 ...
from 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 ...
in the
1967 NHL Expansion Draft.
*June 6, 1972 – Claimed 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 ...
from 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 ...
in the
1972 NHL Expansion Draft.
References
External links
*
1940 births
2003 deaths
Atlanta Flames captains
Atlanta Flames players
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Deaths from cancer
Hershey Bears players
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players
Montreal Canadiens players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players
Pittsburgh Penguins players
Place of death missing
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