horrorfreak13
12-05-2003, 07:50 PM
Some sad news from my area junior hockey coach Bert Templeton died of Cancer of the age of 63.
Courtesy of TSN
In his hard-nosed, uncompromising style, Bert Templeton produced winning junior hockey teams and NHL players during a coaching career that spanned over a quarter-century.
Templeton, who was a coach in the Ontario Hockey League for 26 years, died of cancer Friday morning at the age of 63. He was diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in June.
Templeton suffered a serious fall in hospital in Sudbury, Ont., last Saturday. His back was broken in three places and he was left paralysed from the chest down.
News broke of Templeton's kidney cancer in July. In October, he had a kidney removed in an operation at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. The Karmanos Institute was founded through the financing of Peter Karmanos, owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, whose wife, Barbara Ann, died of cancer.
Templeton's prognosis worsened when CAT scan results came back Nov. 24. Templeton was told the cancer was spreading from his lower back into other areas, including his lungs and spine. A large tumour had developed in the middle of Templeton's back.
Templeton coached the Hamilton Fincups to a Memorial Cup title in 1976 and also to a silver medal in 1977 at the world junior championship in the days before Canada sent a national team.
Templeton was also behind the bench for the North Bay Centennials when they won an OHL title in 1994.
The native of Irvine, Scotland, was named the Canadian Hockey League's coach of the year in 1994 and the executive of the year in 1992. He was also the OHL's coach of the year in 1975 and `94 and executive of the year in 1992 and 1996.
His career junior coaching record of 907-678-148 was exemplary, but overshadowed by that of Ottawa 67's coach Brian Kilrea, who won his 1,000th career game against Templeton's Sudbury Wolves on March 9 of this year. Templeton was gracious about his colleague's accomplishment.
``He should be proud. He's been a good friend and a good adversary,'' said Templeton.
He coached current and former NHL players such as Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Nick Kypreos, Darren Turcotte, Bill Houlder, Joe Reekie, Adam Burt, Vitali Yachmenev and Drake Berehowsky.
``His name should be put up there with Brian Kilrea's in terms of his overall commitment to junior hockey,'' Kypreos recently told the London Free Press. ``Bert's passion for the game is right up there with some of the great names in hockey like Brian Kilrea and Roger Neilson. He's a lifer. All three of those men were born to teach.''
Before his OHL career began, Templeton coached junior B in Hamilton where he began a reputation for having physical teams.
In North Bay, he was particularly successful, leading the Centennials to five seasons of more than 40 wins from 1982 to 1994.
``Bert made the North Bay franchise,'' Centennials play-by-play man Pete Handley told the Sudbury Star. ``When he first came to North Bay he was hard-nosed and hard on the players, but he was willing to change his attitude as the players' attitudes changed.''
Templeton shot to prominence in 1987 when the Canadian junior hockey team he coached at the world championship that year in Piestany, Czechoslovakia, was booted out of the tournament along with the Soviet Union after the two teams engaged in a bench-clearing brawl that lasted 20 minutes.
Canada was leading 4-2 at 13:53 of the second period of the final game of the tournament and was assured a silver medal and possibly gold if the team won by enough goals.
The Canadian players may have been goaded into scrapping with the Soviets and the officials, who fled for the exits, may have been incompetent in what has gone down in hockey history as the ``Punch-up in Piestany.'' But Templeton took some criticism for not controlling his players.
He was unapologetic.
``We're convinced in our own minds that what we did was right,'' Templeton said at the time.
The players and coaches were initially suspended from international competition for three years. The players' suspension was subsequently lifted, but the coaches' penalties remained.
``That's what they would call justice. That's what I would call the shaft,'' said Templeton.
As for the barbs he took from the media he said: ``The only bad news some of these guys are ever going to write about me is my obituary and some of them would probably goof that up, too.''
Templeton also coached OHL teams in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Barrie.
In a foray in the pro ranks, he was coach of the American Hockey League's Nova Scotia Voyageurs from 1979 to 1981.
Templeton was coach of the Sudbury Wolves the last four years. He was fired in March after the Wolves finished 19th out of 20 teams in the league. It marked the first time a Templeton team did not reach the post-season.
Templeton's death came after a $400,000 lawsuit against the Wolves for breach of contract was settled out of court
A major loss for junior hockey in Canada as he is one of the best coaches this country produced. A coach who always got the best from his players and made them into men going into the NHL.
R.I.P.
:(
Courtesy of TSN
In his hard-nosed, uncompromising style, Bert Templeton produced winning junior hockey teams and NHL players during a coaching career that spanned over a quarter-century.
Templeton, who was a coach in the Ontario Hockey League for 26 years, died of cancer Friday morning at the age of 63. He was diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in June.
Templeton suffered a serious fall in hospital in Sudbury, Ont., last Saturday. His back was broken in three places and he was left paralysed from the chest down.
News broke of Templeton's kidney cancer in July. In October, he had a kidney removed in an operation at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. The Karmanos Institute was founded through the financing of Peter Karmanos, owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, whose wife, Barbara Ann, died of cancer.
Templeton's prognosis worsened when CAT scan results came back Nov. 24. Templeton was told the cancer was spreading from his lower back into other areas, including his lungs and spine. A large tumour had developed in the middle of Templeton's back.
Templeton coached the Hamilton Fincups to a Memorial Cup title in 1976 and also to a silver medal in 1977 at the world junior championship in the days before Canada sent a national team.
Templeton was also behind the bench for the North Bay Centennials when they won an OHL title in 1994.
The native of Irvine, Scotland, was named the Canadian Hockey League's coach of the year in 1994 and the executive of the year in 1992. He was also the OHL's coach of the year in 1975 and `94 and executive of the year in 1992 and 1996.
His career junior coaching record of 907-678-148 was exemplary, but overshadowed by that of Ottawa 67's coach Brian Kilrea, who won his 1,000th career game against Templeton's Sudbury Wolves on March 9 of this year. Templeton was gracious about his colleague's accomplishment.
``He should be proud. He's been a good friend and a good adversary,'' said Templeton.
He coached current and former NHL players such as Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Nick Kypreos, Darren Turcotte, Bill Houlder, Joe Reekie, Adam Burt, Vitali Yachmenev and Drake Berehowsky.
``His name should be put up there with Brian Kilrea's in terms of his overall commitment to junior hockey,'' Kypreos recently told the London Free Press. ``Bert's passion for the game is right up there with some of the great names in hockey like Brian Kilrea and Roger Neilson. He's a lifer. All three of those men were born to teach.''
Before his OHL career began, Templeton coached junior B in Hamilton where he began a reputation for having physical teams.
In North Bay, he was particularly successful, leading the Centennials to five seasons of more than 40 wins from 1982 to 1994.
``Bert made the North Bay franchise,'' Centennials play-by-play man Pete Handley told the Sudbury Star. ``When he first came to North Bay he was hard-nosed and hard on the players, but he was willing to change his attitude as the players' attitudes changed.''
Templeton shot to prominence in 1987 when the Canadian junior hockey team he coached at the world championship that year in Piestany, Czechoslovakia, was booted out of the tournament along with the Soviet Union after the two teams engaged in a bench-clearing brawl that lasted 20 minutes.
Canada was leading 4-2 at 13:53 of the second period of the final game of the tournament and was assured a silver medal and possibly gold if the team won by enough goals.
The Canadian players may have been goaded into scrapping with the Soviets and the officials, who fled for the exits, may have been incompetent in what has gone down in hockey history as the ``Punch-up in Piestany.'' But Templeton took some criticism for not controlling his players.
He was unapologetic.
``We're convinced in our own minds that what we did was right,'' Templeton said at the time.
The players and coaches were initially suspended from international competition for three years. The players' suspension was subsequently lifted, but the coaches' penalties remained.
``That's what they would call justice. That's what I would call the shaft,'' said Templeton.
As for the barbs he took from the media he said: ``The only bad news some of these guys are ever going to write about me is my obituary and some of them would probably goof that up, too.''
Templeton also coached OHL teams in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Barrie.
In a foray in the pro ranks, he was coach of the American Hockey League's Nova Scotia Voyageurs from 1979 to 1981.
Templeton was coach of the Sudbury Wolves the last four years. He was fired in March after the Wolves finished 19th out of 20 teams in the league. It marked the first time a Templeton team did not reach the post-season.
Templeton's death came after a $400,000 lawsuit against the Wolves for breach of contract was settled out of court
A major loss for junior hockey in Canada as he is one of the best coaches this country produced. A coach who always got the best from his players and made them into men going into the NHL.
R.I.P.
:(