Bill Stewart (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
William Donald Stewart is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey
defenceman
and former head coach of the New York Islanders
.
, Stewart was drafted in the 4th round (68th overall) in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres
and started his National Hockey League
career in 1977-78. He also went on to play for the St. Louis Blues
, Toronto Maple Leafs
, and Minnesota North Stars
. He left the NHL at the end of the 1985–86 season choosing to play hockey in Italy until his retirement in 1995.
of the Colonial Hockey League
in 1995. After one season with Muskegon, Stewart took the head coaching position with the Oshawa Generals
of the OHL
in 1996. Stewart got back into coaching professional hockey the following season with a stint in the American Hockey League
and coaching the Saint John Flames
to the Calder Cup Finals in 1998, losing to the Philadelphia Phantoms
in six games.
Stewart was named head coach of the New York Islanders on January 21, 1999 after Mike Milbury
himself stepped down to concentrate solely on his GM duties. After one season with the Islanders Stewart was relieved of his coaching duties and was replaced by Butch Goring
on April 30, 1999. In 1999 Stewart returned to the OHL to become the head coach of the Barrie Colts
. The roster that year included the 4 Brampton Boys, one of whom, Ryan Barnes, faced charges of assault with a weapon after a stick
-swinging incident during a game in October. Later in the season, three of the team's other players were charged with sexual assault
. Finally, Stewart himself made headline
s and was banned from entering the United States for twice smuggling a Ukrainian
-born player over the Canada-U.S. border in the baggage compartment of the team bus. Stewart infamously walked out of the Halifax Metro Centre
without conducting any interviews to the media, following Barrie's 6-2 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic
in the 2000 Memorial Cup
championship game. Following the controversial season in Barrie, Stewart continued his coaching career in Germany
and he made headlines during the DEL playoff finals in 2001 when he feigned fainting behind the Mannheim Eagles bench to buy his star player Jan Alston
time to get his skates sharpened. On December 3, 2009, he agreed to take over as the Head Coach of Kölner Haie
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenceman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
and former head coach of the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
Playing career
A native of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Stewart was drafted in the 4th round (68th overall) in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
and started his National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
career in 1977-78. He also went on to play for the St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...
, Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, and Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
. He left the NHL at the end of the 1985–86 season choosing to play hockey in Italy until his retirement in 1995.
Coaching career
Stewart began his professional coaching career with the Muskegon FuryMuskegon Fury
The Muskegon Fury was a International Hockey League ice hockey team located in Muskegon, Michigan.The Fury were established in 1992 after the original Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League's previous incarnation relocated to Cleveland, Ohio...
of the Colonial Hockey League
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...
in 1995. After one season with Muskegon, Stewart took the head coaching position with the Oshawa Generals
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. The Generals are one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Hockey League...
of the OHL
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
in 1996. Stewart got back into coaching professional hockey the following season with a stint in the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
and coaching the Saint John Flames
Saint John Flames
The Saint John Flames were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate....
to the Calder Cup Finals in 1998, losing to the Philadelphia Phantoms
Philadelphia Phantoms
The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule conflicts or some Calder Cup playoff games, games were...
in six games.
Stewart was named head coach of the New York Islanders on January 21, 1999 after Mike Milbury
Mike Milbury
Michael Milbury is an American sportscaster currently working as an ice hockey analyst for the New England Sports Network , Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL on NBC. He played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League , all of them as a defenseman for the Boston Bruins...
himself stepped down to concentrate solely on his GM duties. After one season with the Islanders Stewart was relieved of his coaching duties and was replaced by Butch Goring
Butch Goring
Robert "Butch" Goring is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders. Since retiring as a player he has served as head coach of...
on April 30, 1999. In 1999 Stewart returned to the OHL to become the head coach of the Barrie Colts
Barrie Colts
The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League, based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. There were two previous Barrie Colts team which played Junior A & B hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association, one from 1907 until 1910 and another from the 1920s to 1940s.-Original Colts:The...
. The roster that year included the 4 Brampton Boys, one of whom, Ryan Barnes, faced charges of assault with a weapon after a stick
Hockey stick
A hockey stick is a piece of equipment used in field hockey, ice hockey or roller hockey to move the ball or puck.- Field hockey :Field hockey sticks have an end which varies in shape, often depending on the players position...
-swinging incident during a game in October. Later in the season, three of the team's other players were charged with sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
. Finally, Stewart himself made headline
Headline
The headline is the text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it.It is sometimes termed a news hed, a deliberate misspelling that dates from production flow during hot type days, to notify the composing room that a written note from an editor concerned a...
s and was banned from entering the United States for twice smuggling a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
-born player over the Canada-U.S. border in the baggage compartment of the team bus. Stewart infamously walked out of the Halifax Metro Centre
Halifax Metro Centre
The Halifax Metro Centre was built in 1978, in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The building is next to the World Trade and Convention Centre, at the foot of Citadel Hill. It is the largest arena in Halifax. It originally featured a full ring of bright orange seats around the playing surface,...
without conducting any interviews to the media, following Barrie's 6-2 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic
Rimouski Océanic
The Rimouski Océanic are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season...
in the 2000 Memorial Cup
2000 Memorial Cup
The 2000 Memorial Cup occurred May 20–28 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It featured the host team, the Halifax Mooseheads as well as the winners of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League which were the Barrie Colts, Rimouski...
championship game. Following the controversial season in Barrie, Stewart continued his coaching career in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and he made headlines during the DEL playoff finals in 2001 when he feigned fainting behind the Mannheim Eagles bench to buy his star player Jan Alston
Jan Alston
Jan Alston is a Canadian ice hockey centre currently playing for the HC Lausanne of the National League B....
time to get his skates sharpened. On December 3, 2009, he agreed to take over as the Head Coach of Kölner Haie
Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.The team colours are red and white....
.
Awards and achievements
- 1997–981997–98 AHL seasonThe 1997–98 AHL season was the 62nd season of the American Hockey League. The AHL shifts teams in their divisions, and the Canadian division reverts to being named Atlantic division. The Northern conference is renamed the Eastern conference, and the Southern conference renamed the Western...
- Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award - Saint John Flames
Transactions
- October 30, 1980 - Traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the St. Louis Blues for Bob HessBob HessRobert George Hess is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Hartford Whalers...
and a 4th round pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft (Anders Wikberg) - September 10, 1983 - Signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs
- September 15, 1985 - Signed as a free agent by the Minnesota North Stars
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GPI | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977-78 1977-78 NHL season Game 5 was Fred Shero's last game as head coach of the Flyers and Gerry Cheevers left the ice without shaking hands with any of the Flyers. -Finals:Boston Bruins vs... |
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1978-79 1978-79 NHL season The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth Cup in a row... |
Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 67 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 189 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 42 | ||
| 1980-81 1980-81 NHL season The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. This was the first season that the Calgary Flames played in Calgary, Alberta. Previously, they were the Atlanta Flames and played in Atlanta, Georgia. The New York Islanders won their second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating... |
St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
NHL | 60 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 114 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1981-82 1981-82 NHL season The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against... |
St. Louis Blues | NHL | 22 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1982-83 1982-83 NHL season -NHL awards:-All-Star teams:Source: NHL.-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = PointsSource: NHL.-Leading goaltenders:... |
St. Louis Blues | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1983-84 1983-84 NHL season The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.-League business:... |
Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 56 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 116 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1984-85 1984-85 NHL season The 1984–85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series.-League business:... |
Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1985-86 1985-86 NHL season -Final:Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary FlamesMontreal wins best-of-seven series 4–1-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:- Leading goaltenders :-Debuts:... |
Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white... |
NHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NHL totals | 260 | 7 | 64 | 71 | 424 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | ||||