Nick Polano (March 25, 1941 – September 26, 2019) was a Canadian

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 ...

player, coach, and scout. Polano was 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 ...

' head coach when owner

Mike Ilitch Michael Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017), also known as Mr. I, was an American entrepreneur and restaurateur who served as the founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He also owned the D ...

first bought the team in 1982, and later served as the team's assistant general manager. As head coach, his overall record in the NHL was 79–127–34.

Playing career

Polano was born in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and grew up in Copper Cliff. He never played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, but he did play 15 seasons in 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 ...

(AHL), plus 17 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) as a

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

Coaching career

Polano began his coaching career in 1975–76 with the

Erie Blades The Erie Blades name was used by two professional ice hockey teams in Erie, Pennsylvania. Both teams played their home games in the Erie County Field House. After the second Blades team folded, the void was filled by the Erie Golden Blades, a ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL) and led that team to three consecutive regular season and playoff championships. Staying with the Blades as they changed leagues, Polano was twice named

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

coach of the year and in 1981 was named minor league executive of the year by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''.

Detroit Red Wings

Polano spent ten seasons in the

organization, first as head coach and then as assistant general manager. Polano guided the Red Wings from 1982 to 1985 and amassed a 79–127–34 regular season record as their head coach. In the summer of 1985, Polano was replaced as head coach by

Harry Neale Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL 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 Sch ...

, but remained in the organization as the assistant general manager for player development. The move had been planned by Red Wings general manager

Jim Devellano James Devellano (born January 18, 1943) is a Canadian sports executive. He currently serves as the senior vice-president & alternate governor of the Detroit Red Wings National Hockey League (NHL) team and vice-president of the Detroit Tigers Ma ...

several years prior. Polano and team vice president

Jim Lites James R. Lites (born 1953) is an American sports executive who is CEO and alternate governor of the Dallas Stars of the NHL. He was formerly the president of Hicks Sports Marketing Group, and as such was president of the Stars and Texas Ranger ...

, along with several European scouts, were instrumental in aiding the defection of several future NHL players from behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

including

Petr Klima Petr is a Czech language, Czech form of the masculine given name Peter and a surname. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politician * Petr ...

, Slava Kozlov, and

Sergei Fedorov Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of HC CSKA Moscow, CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) from 2021 to 2024. During his playing care ...

. Polano had scouted Klima during the 1983 World Championships where he was competing as a member of

Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team The Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team was the national ice hockey team of Czechoslovakia, and competed from 1920 until 1992. The successor to the Bohemia national ice hockey team, which ...

. Based on Polano's recommendation, the Red Wings drafted Klima in the fifth round (88th overall) of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. In the summer of 1985, Klima left his team during a team meal in

Nußdorf am Inn Nußdorf am Inn (officially: ''Nußdorf a. Inn'') is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Nußdorf consists of 23 boroughs and is a tourist destination in the Inn Valley between the Heuberg Wendelstein mo ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, to meet Lites and Polano at an undisclosed location. Several days were then spent in the effort to bring Klíma to North America as Lites and Polano kept Klíma under wraps in Nußdorf and other locations to avoid pursuit by Czech police. Polano stayed with Klíma as Lites and other Wings officials arranged for him to gain refugee status to enter the United States. While they were waiting, Polano trained Klima in the woods outside of town. The Red Wings were assisted by U.S. attorney general

Edwin Meese Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan presidential transition team (1980� ...

and deputy attorney general

Lowell Jensen Delwen Lowell Jensen (born June 3, 1928) is an American jurist and former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Education and career Born in Brigham City, Utah, Jensen receiv ...

in expediting the political-asylum process. Polano accompanied Klima to the United States, where they arrived at

Detroit Metro Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, a Detroit suburb. It is by far Michigan's busiest ...

on September 22, 1985. Before joining Detroit, Polano served as an assistant coach with 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 ...

for one season under

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey head coach. He holds the record for most wins in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup ...

in 1981–82.

Calgary Flames

From 1992 to 2000 Polano worked for the

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 ...

, first as their director of pro scouting and later as their director of player personnel and general manager and alternate governor for the

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint ...

Ottawa Senators

In August 2002, Polano joined the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

as part-time professional scout.

Death

Polano died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at age 78; he was diagnosed four years before his death.

NHL coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polano, Nick 1941 births 2019 deaths Albuquerque Six-Guns players Amarillo Wranglers players Baltimore Clippers players Buffalo Sabres coaches Calgary Flames executives Calgary Flames scouts Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Canada Detroit Red Wings coaches Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players Hamilton Tiger Cubs players Hershey Bears players Louisville Rebels players North American Hockey League (1973–1977) coaches Omaha Knights (CHL) players Omaha Knights (IHL) players Ottawa Senators scouts Philadelphia Blazers players Providence Reds players Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury 20th-century Canadian sportsmen