Harold Richardson Laycoe (June 23, 1922 — April 29, 1998) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

and coach. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

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 ...

, and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

between 1945 and 1956. After his playing career he became a coach, working as both a coach and general manager in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

between 1956 and 1969. He coached the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the NHL for the first part of the 1969–70 season, and in 1970 became the inaugural coach of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, spending two seasons as coach and a final season as the general manager in 1973–74.

Playing career

Laycoe grew up in rural Sutherland, Saskatchewan. He played junior hockey in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

, but he saw his dreams of turning pro in the sport interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Laycoe served in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

and played on travelling teams while completing his military service. He started his

career with the

after signing with this team in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. In 1947, Laycoe joined the

. Despite wearing eyeglasses during games due to his vision, Laycoe gained a reputation as one of the most physical players in the league. However, he struggled to find playing time on an exceptionally deep team. He was a midseason trade acquisition by the

in 1951, and he received an increased number of minutes on the blue line with his new club. His high stick on and subsequent fight with French-Canadian superstar

Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...

was the catalyst for the infamous

Richard Riot The Richard Riot was a riot on March 17, 1955 (Saint Patrick's Day), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The riot was named after Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Following a v ...

. Laycoe retired after the 1955-1956 season.

Coaching career

Laycoe coached the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

of the

in 1956–57 and remained with the franchise when it moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

for the 1960–1961 season and was renamed the

Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos ini ...

. The Buckaroos won the league championship

Lester Patrick Cup The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the Phil Henderson Cup and then in 1952 it was renamed to the President's Cup. The ...

its first year in existence. Laycoe coached the Buckaroos for nine seasons and won another league championship in 1964–1965. During the 9 Buckaroo years, Laycoe led them to more victories(362) than any other professional team. In 1969, Laycoe moved to the National Hockey League, coaching the

for part of one season and then moving on to the expansion

for two more seasons. He later coached the

Dutch national team Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

in the 1977 B Pool World Championships.He continued to live in Vancouver after leaving the Canuck's management. His final position in hockey was as a scout with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. The Islanders gave team Stanley Cup rings to Laycoe after each of their 1980 to 1984 Stanley Cup wins. In 1984, he was named to the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. Although his hometown of Sutherland became annexed into Saskatoon, Laycoe Crescent, Court, Lane and Terrace in the city's

Silverspring Silverspring is a residential neighbourhood located in northeast Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a suburban subdivision, composed mostly of low-density, single detached houses. As of 2007, the area is home to 4,936 residents. The neighbour ...

subdivision is named in his honor.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laycoe, Hal 1922 births 1998 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian military personnel of World War II Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Los Angeles Kings coaches Montreal Canadiens players New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Sportspeople from Saskatoon Vancouver Canucks coaches Vancouver Canucks general managers