Neil Colville

Neil Colville
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1967
Mac Colville, Neil Colville and Alex Shibicky, 1938
Born	August 4, 1914 Edmonton, AB, CAN
Died	December 26, 1987 (aged 73) Richmond, BC, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	New York Rangers
Playing career	1934–1950

Neil McNeil Colville (August 4, 1914 – December 26, 1987) was a professional ice hockey player. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, he played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League with his brother Mac, winning the Stanley Cup in 1940.^[1]

Colville joined the Rangers' farm team in 1934 and quickly made his way to the pros by 1936, centreing the "Bread Line" with his brother and Alex Shibicky, where he played until World War II. During the war, he and his brother were stationed in Ottawa and played on the army's Ottawa Commandos team, winning the Allan Cup in 1942.

After the war, they both returned the Rangers, this time as defencemen, the first pairs of brothers to ever do so in the NHL. Neil was adept at both defence and offense. Previously, he was erroneously reported here to be the first player to be named to All-Star Teams as both a forward and a defenseman; though he did indeed accomplish the dual feat, the first to do so was the venerable Dit Clapper in 1931/1938.

He retired in 1949 and became the Rangers' youngest coach a year later, but he was forced to resign due to health problems halfway through his second season.

In the 1950s, Colville was one of the primary founding investors in what would become Northern Television Systems, WHTV, in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Colville eventually moved from Vancouver, B.C. to Whitehorse in order to run the small four-channel station alongside Bert Wybrew. He slept in a bunk in the studio and learned to do everything from fixing the equipment to hosting the news casts. Filling the air time without the benefit of extensive broadcasting infrastructure was at times difficult, and the station would run footage of downtown's Main Street or do live broadcasts of a goldfish bowl to fill the hours.^[2]

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967. He died in 1987 and there is a memorial bench in his honor at the Gary Point Park in Steveston, British Columbia.

In 2009, Colville was ranked No. 22 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1929–30	Edmonton Enarcos	EJrHL		12	1	0	1	—		—	—	—	—	—
1930–31	Edmonton Canadians	EJrHL		13	2	0	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
1931–32	Edmonton Poolers	EJrHL		11	7	3	10	—		4	2	1	3	0
1931–32	Edmonton Poolers	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		5	2	0	2	2
1932–33	Edmonton Athletic Club	EJrHL		11	—	—	—	10		3	0	0	0	2
1933–34	Edmonton Athletic Club	EJrHL		9	14	4	18	13		2	4	2	6	5
1933–34	Edmonton Athletic Club	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		12	15	6	21	4
1934–35	New York Crescents	EAHL		21	24	11	35	16		8	8	4	12	2
1935–36	New York Rangers	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1935–36	Philadelphia Ramblers	Can-Am		35	15	16	31	8		4	0	2	2	0
1936–37	New York Rangers	NHL		45	10	18	28	33		9	3	3	6	0
1937–38	New York Rangers	NHL		45	17	19	36	11		3	0	1	1	0
1938–39	New York Rangers	NHL		47	18	19	37	12		7	0	2	2	2
1939–40	New York Rangers	NHL		48	19	19	38	22		12	2	7	9	18
1940–41	New York Rangers	NHL		48	14	28	42	28		3	1	1	2	0
1941–42	New York Rangers	NHL		48	8	25	33	37		6	0	5	5	6
1942–43	Ottawa Commandos	QSHL		22	12	30	42	32		—	—	—	—	—
1942–43	Ottawa Army	OCHL		12	11	12	23	6		—	—	—	—	—
1942–43	Ottawa Commandos	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		12	14	14	28	17
1944–45	New York Rangers	NHL		4	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1944–45	Winnipeg RCAF	WNDHL		6	5	4	9	4		—	—	—	—	—
1944–45	Ottawa Commandos	OCHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1944–45	Quebec Aces	QSHL		5	1	2	3	0		7	2	5	7	4
1944–45	Quebec Aces	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	3	3	0
1945–46	New York Rangers	NHL		49	5	4	9	25		—	—	—	—	—
1946–47	New York Rangers	NHL		60	4	16	20	16		—	—	—	—	—
1947–48	New York Rangers	NHL		55	4	12	16	25		6	1	0	1	6
1948–49	New York Rangers	NHL		14	0	5	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
1948–49	New Haven Ramblers	AHL		11	0	3	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
1949–50	New Haven Ramblers	AHL		17	3	4	7	13		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				464	99	166	265	213		46	7	19	26	32

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
NYR	1950–51	70	20	29	21	61	5th in NHL	DNQ
NYR	1951–52	23	6	12	5	17	5th in NHL	Fired
Total		93	26	41	26	78

See also

• list of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise

References

2. From Cablecaster magazine, November 2002

External links

• Neil Colville's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Find-A-Grave profile for Neil Colville