Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired

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and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Neale got his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary School in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, where he also taught social studies and physical education. In 1966, he replaced Glen Sonmor at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. While at Ohio State, he was a physical fitness trainer for the Ohio State football team. He coached the Buckeyes for four seasons compiling a 49-48-3 record. He left Ohio State in 1970 to coach junior hockey in Hamilton. Neale was hired as assistant coach of the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976 ...

of the WHA in 1972. He replaced Sonmor again as head coach late in the 1972–73 season. He remained head coach until the Fighting Saints franchise folded during the 1975–76 season. Following Minnesota, Neale remained in the WHA as head coach of the

New England Whalers New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

for two seasons from 1976 to 1978. He coached the Whalers to the

Avco Cup The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979. The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name origin ...

Finals where they lost to the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

. Between stints at Minnesota and New England, Neale was an assistant coach for the U.S. team in the

1976 Canada Cup The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2 to 15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City in Canada as well as in Philadelphia, in the United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup ...

. Hired by the

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

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Neale coached the Canucks for almost four seasons. Late in the 1981–82 season, Neale was involved in an altercation with fans during a game in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

against the Nordiques and was suspended for ten games. Assistant coach

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 ...

was promoted to interim coach during the suspension. When the Canucks went unbeaten in the next 10 games, he was given the job full-time as the team advanced to the

1982 Stanley Cup Finals The 1982 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Campbell Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in th ...

. At season's end, Neale was promoted to general manager (an arrangement made prior to the suspension). Neale returned to the Canucks bench in January 1984 after firing Neilson and again in November 1984 after firing Bill LaForge twenty games into the season. The Canucks fired Neale from his posts as vice president, general manager, and head coach in April 1985. The

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

hired Neale prior to the 1985–86 season. However, after a poor start, Neale was fired after 35 games.

Head coaching record

College

Professional record

Broadcast career

During his coaching and managerial career, he sometimes worked for ''

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

'' as a guest analyst in the playoffs when his team missed the playoffs or was eliminated from

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

contention. He then began working as a broadcaster full-time in 1986, where he was teamed with play-by-play man Bob Cole on CBC. Together, the pair broadcast 20 Stanley Cup Finals, the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and 2004 World Cup of Hockey for CBC. In the playoffs, when Cole was working with other colour commentators, he also worked with Don Wittman, Chris Cuthbert, and Jim Hughson. During this time, he also provided colour commentary for locally televised

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

games, pairing up with play-by-play broadcasters Jim Hughson, Ken Daniels,

Jiggs McDonald John Kenneth "Jiggs" McDonald (born November 28, 1938) is a sportscaster who has done play-by-play announcing for NHL games for more than 50 years. In 1990, McDonald received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Biogr ...

, and Joe Bowen. In addition, Neale occasionally worked on

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and

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

broadcasts. He left the Toronto telecasts after the 2006–07 season to join the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

broadcast team. He is known for the same sense of humour he was famous for as a coach, often referring to the puck as "..bouncing like an Indian Rubber (

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

) ball", as well as for his estimations of exact distances on the ice. At the gold medal game of the 2002 Winter Olympics in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, after

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; () born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, which lasted from 1988 to 2009, with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado ...

scored Canada's fifth goal with 1:20 remaining, he replied to his partner, Bob Cole's call as, "That's more than enough. Take a look at the Canadian bench. If you doubt by what I say, that's more than enough." Neale spent five seasons, from 2007–08 to 2011–12, as the colour commentator for the

serving alongside Rick Jeanneret, a personal friend of Neale's and fellow Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner. He spent the 2012–13 season as a studio analyst for the Sabres' pregame show and intermission reports. During the 2013–14 season, Neale served as a colour commentator for Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts on Leafs TV. He retired at the end of the 2013–14 season. On March 25, 2022, Neale served as a colour commentator for the

, once again alongside Rick Jeanneret in a guest appearance, for a game involving the

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

during the first and second periods.

Honours

In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the coaching category. In 2013, Neale received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and thus was honored by the

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 ...

Personal life

Neale grew up in

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

and moved to East Amherst, New York in 1987. He has five children.

References

External links

Coaching statistics on Hockey Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neale, Harry 1937 births Living people Buffalo Sabres announcers Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian television sportscasters Detroit Red Wings coaches Edmonton Oilers announcers Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners Ice hockey people from Sarnia Minnesota Fighting Saints coaches National Hockey League broadcasters New England Whalers coaches Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey coaches Toronto Maple Leafs announcers Toronto Marlboros players Vancouver Canucks coaches Vancouver Canucks general managers World Hockey Association coaches