Neil 'The Seal' Celley (1927-2019) was a former American

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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and player who was a member of the US national team at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

Career

Neil Celley joined the

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

ice hockey team after winning a state championship in 1945. He left the program a year later to take part in first

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

since 1936 (due to

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 ...

) and was chosen as a member of the USOC's squad. A competing USA team was also sent to

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

that year, one representing the

Amateur Hockey Association The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur men's ice hockey league founded on 8 December 1886, in existence until 1898. It was the second ice hockey league organized in Canada, after one in Kingston, Ontario started in 1883. ...

that openly allowed professional players in their lineup. After tense negotiations the AHA team was allowed to play in the games but only in an unofficial capacity (they would be ineligible for a medal). The USOC team was allowed to march in the opening ceremony which would be the extent to which Celley could contribute to the team. Celley returned to

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

the following fall and finished out his college career without further interruption. He played in 3 consecutive NCAA tournaments finally winning one in his senior season. Celley was named to the All tournament team and recorded a team record 37 goals and 37 assists in the regular season (later broken by Red Berenson). After graduating from the School of Education in 1951 Celley immediately began his coaching career at

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, taking over the two-year-old program from

Vern Turner Vernon Wilbert Turner (June 9, 1895 – May 28, 1960) was an American ice hockey coach and player who was the first person to lead the program at the University of Denver. Career Hailing from Stayner, Ontario, Vern Turner got his start as a go ...

. While receiving his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in 1952 Celley led the Pioneers to a second-place finish (tied) in the newly created MCHL, unfortunately his alma mater Michigan (with whom his team had tied) was selected for the 1952 tournament instead. Celley's teams would finish with a winning record every year but were never selected for the postseason tournament. In 1956, after kicking four players off the squad for violating team rules, Celley stepped down mid-season and ended his coaching career.

Head coaching record

†Celley resigned shortly after removing four players from the team for violating team rules.

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Celley, Neil Year of birth unknown American ice hockey coaches Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey coaches Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States People from Eveleth, Minnesota Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota American men's ice hockey left wingers NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Ice hockey players from Minnesota