Robert "Bert" Templeton (May 11, 1940 – December 5, 2003) was a junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach. He worked primarily in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

from 1974 to 2003. Templeton compiled a career coaching record of 907-678-148 with major junior teams in North Bay, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Barrie. Templeton has been compared to

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

coach Brian Kilrea for his longevity and

Roger Neilson Roger Paul Neilson, (June 16, 1934 – June 21, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, most notably in the NHL, where he served with eight teams. Known as Captain Video because of his technological contributions to the game, he is ...

for respect in the hockey world. "His name should be put up there with Brian Kilrea's in terms of his overall commitment to junior hockey," former player Nick Kypreos said. "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." Templeton was hired into the OHA at age 34, previously to that he was coaching the Jr B Hamilton Jr B Red Wings and that team went on to win the Sutherland cup. This team was owned by Cupido/finochio and when the sale went through for them to buy the OHA Hamilton Red Wings. They wanted to change the franchise. The changed the name to the Fincups as well as hired all new scouting and coaches included a young Bert Templeton. It worked instantly as the first season they went to the division finals and then in only the second season behind the bench he coached the Hamilton Fincups to the

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

in 1976.

World Juniors

He coached the Fincups to a silver medal at the

1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1977 WJHC'') were held between December 22, 1976, and January 2, 1977, in Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, Czechoslovakia. The Soviet team won the tournament with a perfect 7–0 record. This was the f ...

in the days before Canada sent a national team and the Canadian World Junior team in Piestany in 1987.

North Bay & Later Years

Templeton was the longest-serving coach in

North Bay Centennials The North Bay Centennials were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. History The North Bay Centennials or "Cents" as they were popularly known, were na ...

history, serving as their boss for twelve of the team's twenty seasons. In 1994, Templeton coached North Bay to an OHL title. He also coached the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

and

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

in the OHL, the

Niagara Falls Flyers The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982. B ...

, and from 1979 to 1981 the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League, from 1971 to 1984. Originally chartered as the Omaha Knights of the Central Professional Hockey Leagu ...

. Templeton twice won the OHL's Coach of the Year award, represented by the

Matt Leyden Trophy The Matt Leyden Trophy is awarded annually to the Ontario Hockey League Coach of the Year. The award is chosen by fellow OHL general managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for a coach from their own hockey club. Coaches receive five points for ...

, in 1975 and 1994. He also twice won the OHL Executive of the Year award, in 1992 and 1996.

Personal

Templeton was married to Sandi Templeton. He had three children, and two stepchildren. Bert Templeton died in 2003 from

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

. He was posthumously awarded the Bill Long Award for lifetime distinguished service to the OHL in 2005.

References

Obituary on the CHL website

Coaching record at the Internet Hockey Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Templeton, Bert 1940 births 2003 deaths Barrie Colts coaches Deaths from cancer in Ontario Deaths from kidney cancer in Canada North Bay Centennials coaches Scottish emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Irvine, North Ayrshire Sudbury Wolves coaches