1,000-game coach club
Coaching a thousand games in any high-level league is obviously an accomplishment. And among Ontario Hockey League coaches, Dale Hunter of the London Knights is now in select company.
Given that he is an active OHL coach, Hunter may not yet be considered a legend. But he is certainly among legendary company.
In that there are so many coaches of OHL fame who never stood behind the bench for a thousand games, Hunter is indeed among a special group.
Hunter recently became the sixth coach in OHL history to reach the 1,000 game mark, joining Brian Kilrea (2,156), the late Bert Templeton (1,735), Larry Mavety (1,532), George Burnett (1,332) and Stan Butler (1,397) in the quadruple-digit club.
Burnett, as general manager of the Flint Firebirds and Butler, as coach-general manager of the North Bay Battalion, remain active in full-time duty within the OHL.
As for Hunter, besides winning three OHL championships and two Memorial Cup titles with London, his .704 win percentage as the Knights bench boss is simply amazing.
Of note, of the six coaches who are members of the 1,000-game club, two did so with the same team — Hunter (London) and Kilrea (Ottawa 67’s.)
Besides the “silver six” of 1,000-game fame, several others have coached in the OHL with lengthy distinction without quite making it to the magic number.
For example, the list of those who coached in 700 OHL games or more includes the likes of Peter DeBoer (current bench boss of the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League), Dick Todd, Paul Theriault, the late Bill Long, the late Eddie Bush, the late Hap Emms, Gary Agnew, Wayne Maxner and Dave MacQueen.
PHOTO: Dale Hunter, in a familiar pose back of the London Knights bench.
A great coach but also a great player. No one played the game harder and with the intensity that Dale did. He was a credit to the Wolves and continues to be with the league and the game. We were very proud of Dale’s accomplishmentsand I congratulate him.
London has been one of the best CHL teams since the Hunter’s took over in 2002. Within ten years, they went from winning only 3 games out of 66 in to winning the OHL and Memorial Cup while hosting the tournament.