Cooney Weiland
Encyclopedia
Ralph "Cooney" Weiland was an NHL
forward
who played for the Boston Bruins
, Ottawa Senators
, and Detroit Red Wings
.
Weiland began playing junior hockey in Seaforth, where he spent three seasons with his hometown team. In 1923 he moved to Owen Sound, Ontario
to attend school, planning a career as a druggist. He joined that city's junior team, the Owen Sound Greys
, and led them to the 1924 Memorial Cup
as Canadian champions. He was the club's top scorer with 68 goals in 25 games.
After the Greys lost the 1925 OHA final to Toronto Aura Lee
, Weiland began a three-year stint with the Minneapolis Millers
of the old American Hockey Association
. That led to the start of his NHL career with Boston, where he celebrated his rookie campaign in 1928–29 with a Stanley Cup victory over the New York Rangers
. It was the first Cup win in Bruins history.
In his second season during 1929–30, he scored 43 goals and 73 points in 44 games aided by a rule change that season only. It shattered the NHL's single-season points record of 51 which had been set two years earlier by Montreal Canadiens
legend Howie Morenz
. Weiland held the record alone until 1942–43
, when Doug Bentley
of the Chicago Black Hawks
tied it, and shared it for one more year—Boston's Herb Cain
broke the record with 82 points in 1943–44.
The Bruins went to the Cup final again in 1930 but were swept by Montreal. Weiland had a brief career with Ottawa and played two seasons in Detroit, reaching the Cup final for a third time in 1934. Interestingly, one of his fellow Red Wings that year was Teddy Graham
, an old teammate from the 1924 Greys. Weiland returned to Boston in 1935 and retired in 1939 with 173 goals and 333 points in 510 career games. But he ended his NHL playing career as he had begun it; the Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs
and earned their second Stanley Cup.
He then stepped behind the bench as the club's new head coach and piloted Boston to its third Cup in 1940–41. Weiland helmed the Hershey Bears
of the American Hockey League
for the next four seasons, then coached the league's New Haven entry for two more years. In 1950 he began his longest coaching stint, at Harvard University
, where he compiled a record of 316–172–17 before retiring in 1971. That year also marked his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame
.
A member of the Beanpot Hall of Fame, Weiland was twice named coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association, first in 1955, when he led the Crimson to third place in the NCAA tournament, and again in his final season, when his team captured the ECAC tournament. The New England Hockey Writers Association named Weiland its coach of the year five times and honored him with the Schaefer Pen Award for contribution to amateur hockey in 1962. He received the Lester Patrick Award for contribution to hockey in the United States in 1972.
Weiland coached seven All-Americans, including three-time first-team selection Joe Cavanagh '71 and two-time pick David Johnston
'63. His players earned a total of 26 first team All-Ivy honors, highlighted by the 1956–57 team, which was made up entirely of Crimson players.
Four of Weiland's Harvard players helped the 1960 U.S. Olympic team win the gold medal in Squaw Valley. Among that group was the legendary Bill Cleary '56, who went on to assist Weiland and succeed him as head coach. Cleary served in that role for 19 seasons and as athletic director for 11. He earned the Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award in 1993.
Cufflinks presented to Weiland after Owen Sound's Memorial Cup win in 1924 are part of a permanent junior hockey exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame
in Toronto.
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...
forward
Forward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...
who played for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
, and Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
.
Weiland began playing junior hockey in Seaforth, where he spent three seasons with his hometown team. In 1923 he moved to Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
to attend school, planning a career as a druggist. He joined that city's junior team, the Owen Sound Greys
Owen Sound Greys
The Owen Sound Greys are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League...
, and led them to the 1924 Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
as Canadian champions. He was the club's top scorer with 68 goals in 25 games.
After the Greys lost the 1925 OHA final to Toronto Aura Lee
Toronto Aura Lee
The Toronto Aura Lee Hockey Club operated a pair of junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1916 to 1926. They played at Arena Gardens in Toronto...
, Weiland began a three-year stint with the Minneapolis Millers
Minneapolis Millers (AHA)
The Minneapolis Millers were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Minneapolis Arena. The Millers originated in the Central Hockey League as a semi-professional team from the 1925-26 season. The team moved to the American Hockey Association along with...
of the old American Hockey Association
American Hockey Association (1926–1942)
The American Hockey Association was a minor professional hockey league that operated between 1926 and 1942. It had previously operated as the Central Hockey League , and before that as part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association. The founding president was Alvin Warren, who also owned the St...
. That led to the start of his NHL career with Boston, where he celebrated his rookie campaign in 1928–29 with a Stanley Cup victory over the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
. It was the first Cup win in Bruins history.
In his second season during 1929–30, he scored 43 goals and 73 points in 44 games aided by a rule change that season only. It shattered the NHL's single-season points record of 51 which had been set two years earlier by Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
legend Howie Morenz
Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...
. Weiland held the record alone until 1942–43
1942–43 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...
, when Doug Bentley
Doug Bentley
Douglas Wagner Bentley was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professional career that spanned nearly three decades...
of the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
tied it, and shared it for one more year—Boston's Herb Cain
Herb Cain
Herbert James Cain was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins.-Playing career:Herbert Cain grew up in Newmarket and played junior hockey for the Newmarket Redmen and the...
broke the record with 82 points in 1943–44.
The Bruins went to the Cup final again in 1930 but were swept by Montreal. Weiland had a brief career with Ottawa and played two seasons in Detroit, reaching the Cup final for a third time in 1934. Interestingly, one of his fellow Red Wings that year was Teddy Graham
Ted Graham
Ted Edward Dixon "Teddy" Graham was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Montreal Maroons, Detroit Red Wings, St...
, an old teammate from the 1924 Greys. Weiland returned to Boston in 1935 and retired in 1939 with 173 goals and 333 points in 510 career games. But he ended his NHL playing career as he had begun it; the Bruins defeated the 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 earned their second Stanley Cup.
He then stepped behind the bench as the club's new head coach and piloted Boston to its third Cup in 1940–41. Weiland helmed the Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...
of 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...
for the next four seasons, then coached the league's New Haven entry for two more years. In 1950 he began his longest coaching stint, at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he compiled a record of 316–172–17 before retiring in 1971. That year also marked his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
.
A member of the Beanpot Hall of Fame, Weiland was twice named coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association, first in 1955, when he led the Crimson to third place in the NCAA tournament, and again in his final season, when his team captured the ECAC tournament. The New England Hockey Writers Association named Weiland its coach of the year five times and honored him with the Schaefer Pen Award for contribution to amateur hockey in 1962. He received the Lester Patrick Award for contribution to hockey in the United States in 1972.
Weiland coached seven All-Americans, including three-time first-team selection Joe Cavanagh '71 and two-time pick David Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston is a Canadian academic, author and statesman who is the current Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation....
'63. His players earned a total of 26 first team All-Ivy honors, highlighted by the 1956–57 team, which was made up entirely of Crimson players.
Four of Weiland's Harvard players helped the 1960 U.S. Olympic team win the gold medal in Squaw Valley. Among that group was the legendary Bill Cleary '56, who went on to assist Weiland and succeed him as head coach. Cleary served in that role for 19 seasons and as athletic director for 11. He earned the Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award in 1993.
Cufflinks presented to Weiland after Owen Sound's Memorial Cup win in 1924 are part of a permanent junior hockey exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in Toronto.
Career statistics
| 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,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1925–26 | Minneapolis Millers Minneapolis Millers (AHA) The Minneapolis Millers were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Minneapolis Arena. The Millers originated in the Central Hockey League as a semi-professional team from the 1925-26 season. The team moved to the American Hockey Association along with... |
CHL | 26 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | Minneapolis Millers | AHA | 36 | 21 | 2 | 23 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | Minneapolis Millers | AHA | 40 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the... |
NHL | 40 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1929–30 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 43 | 30 | 73 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1930–31 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 25 | 13 | 38 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1931–32 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators (original) The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934... |
NHL | 48 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1933–34 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1933–34 | Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York... |
NHL | 39 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1934–35 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1935–36 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1936–37 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1937–38 1937–38 NHL season -European tour:After the Stanley Cup final finished, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game exhibition series in Europe, becoming the first NHL teams to play outside North America. Six games were played in England, three in France... |
Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1938–39 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 510 | 173 | 160 | 333 | 147 | 45 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 12 | ||||