Don Cherry Donald Steward Cherry or better known as Don Cherry ( born February 5 , 1934 in Kingston , Ontario , Canada ) is a hockey commentator for CBC Television . Cherry co - hosts the " Coach ' s Corner " intermission segment with Ron MacLean on " Hockey Night in Canada " . Early life and playing career . Don Cherry was born in Kingston , Ontario , Canada . Cherry played tenor drum in a civilian Pipes and Drums band in Ontario . He played junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers and the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League . Cherry won the Memorial Cup as a defenceman with Barrie in 1953 . In 1954 he dropped out of high school and signed with the AHL ' s Hershey Bears . Cherry had a long playing career in professional hockey , spent mostly in the American Hockey League , but he also had stops in several other minor leagues and played one game for the NHL ' s Boston Bruins in 1955 , when he was called up during the playoffs . According to Cherry , a baseball injury suffered in the off season kept him from making the NHL . He retired from hockey in 1970 . Cherry ' s younger brother , Dick Cherry was also a hockey player . Coaching career . After the end of his playing career , Cherry struggled for a time as a Cadillac salesman and a construction worker . He worked as a painter earning $ 2 per hour . In the middle of the 1971 - 72 season , Cherry became the coach of the American Hockey League ' s Rochester Americans . In his third season behind the bench , Cherry was voted the AHL ' s " Coach of the Year . " After his three - year stint in Rochester , he was promoted to the NHL as head coach of the Boston Bruins , a team which was coming off a successful run of two Stanley Cups and three first - place finishes , but would see the departure of superstars Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito . Cherry quickly developed a reputation for being an eccentric , flamboyant coach who strongly encouraged physical play among his players . It has been alleged he modelled the Bruins ' playing style after that of his dog , Blue , a feisty bull terrier . This approach worked as the Bruins , known as the " lunch - pail gang " , were one of the NHL ' s best teams during the latter half of the 1970s , capturing the division title three times from 1977 - 79 . The Bruins were able to defeat the rough Philadelphia Flyers twice in the playoffs under Cherry ' s tenure . The Bruins made the Stanley Cup finals twice , both times losing to their arch - rivals , the Montreal Canadiens , in both 1977 and 1978 . Cherry won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 1976 . Cherry , who had an uneasy relationship with Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden , was fired by the Bruins after a critical coaching mistake during a 1979 semi - final playoff series against the Canadiens . Up by a goal with less than two minutes left in the seventh game , the Bruins were penalized for having too many men on the ice . The Canadiens ' Guy Lafleur scored the tying goal on the subsequent power play and ultimately won the game in overtime . Montreal went on to defeat the New York Rangers for their fourth straight Cup title . Cherry went on to coach the Colorado Rockies the following season . Under his tenure , the Rockies adopted the motto " Come to the fights and watch a Rockies game break out ! " This could be seen on billboards all over Denver in the 1979 - 80 season . Cherry ' s hiring as head coach immediately rejuvenated the ailing franchise ' s fortunes and many believe that if Cherry had stayed on , the Rockies would have remained in Denver ( they instead relocated to New Jersey ) . However , as he later admitted , his outspokenness and feuding with Rockies general manager Ray Miron did not endear Cherry to management . International . Internationally , Cherry was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup and was head coach for Canada ' s team at the 1981 International Ice Hockey Federation World Hockey Championship in Stockholm , Sweden . Owner . Cherry was the part - owner and the former coach of the Ontario Hockey League ' s Mississauga IceDogs . The IceDogs ' first three seasons were difficult ones with the team winning a total of 16 games . Cherry took over coaching duties in the fourth season . During Cherry ' s one season as head coach of the Mississauga IceDogs , the team managed 11 victories ( only a slight improvement ) and failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year . In 1985 , the first of a chain of franchised sports bars / restaurants bearing Don Cherry ' s name was opened in Hamilton . Cherry started as a partner in the operation and has more recently licensed his name to the chain without holding a significant ownership stake in the company . " Don Cherry ' s Sports Grill " has locations in Ontario , Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta . As one of Canada ' s most recognizable and trusted faces ( at least in some circles ) , Cherry has been an in - demand celebrity endorser for consumer products . Broadcasting . After his Rockies failed to qualify for the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs , Cherry was hired as a studio analyst for CBC ' s playoff coverage that spring , working alongside host Dave Hodge . CBC hired him full - time in 1981 as a colour commentator , but he didn ' t last long in that role due to his tendency to openly cheer for one of the teams ( especially the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs ) . Instead , they created Coach ' s Corner , a segment that appeared in the first intermission on Hockey Night In Canada , with Dave Hodge . In 1987 , Hodge was replaced by Ron MacLean , with whom Cherry has been teamed ever since . For several years he also hosted his own half - hour interview show , " Don Cherry ' s Grapevine " , which began on Hamilton ' s CHCH - TV in the 1980s before moving to TSN . His loud , outspoken nature became notorious , and his shows are described as " game analysis , cultural commentary and playful parrying with host Ron MacLean . " Cherry ' s commentary is usually peppered with catch phrases like " All you kids out there . . . , " unrestrained affection for his favorite players ( including " Dougie , " Kingston native Doug Gilmour , whom Cherry kissed on - air in a famous TV gag ) , and overall political incorrectness . Another trademark is his bull terrier " Blue " , originally a gift from the Bruins players . Some of the advice he gives is unchanging from year to year . " Grapes " tends to have favourites among his many tidbits of advice . During the late nineties , virtually every week he would spend time exhorting the evils of placing one ' s stick in the line of fire ( it inevitably caused deflections , and sometimes goals ) . Two other perennial favourites are the folly of the touch icing ( a rule he blamed for the premature end to Pat Peake ' s career ) and ( several years ago ) bemoaning the extremely sensitive rules about crease violation . He also spends time extolling true grit , such as when , in the 2000 playoff campaign , after sustaining a bone - shattering slapshot from Al MacInnis , a Phoenix winger crawled off the ice so that another could take his place . Usually at the end of the NHL season , his send off words in recent years have been about NHL prospects entering the NHL draft . His position is that unless a player is guaranteed to be selected in the first or second rounds , they should not physically attend the draft . The reason for this is that some players would be too disappointed if they are drafted later than expected , or worse , not at all . Cherry returned to the news in May 2004 amid rumours that CBC would terminate his contract for " Hockey Night in Canada " . However , he re - signed with the network in July . Branching out from his " Hockey Night in Canada " duties , Cherry began to release a series of videos called " Don Cherry ' s Rock ' em Sock ' em Hockey " in 1989 . The 15th anniversary video was released in 2003 , with a ' Best Of ' released in 2005 . Cherry returned to the " Coach ' s Corner " for the 2005 - 2006 NHL season - without the seven - second delay . For the 2007 Stanley Cup finals , NBC decided to feature Don Cherry in its intermission coverage , a rare appearance on American television . He was partnered with Brett Hull and it did not conflict with his usual role on CBC as he appeared on NBC during the second intermission . Political views and controversy . Over his career on television , Cherry has generated significant controversy about both hockey and politics . In 2003 Cherry made controversial comments on his CBC segment in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . On the American radio program " The Jim Rome Show " the following week , he lashed out at CBC management for being anti - American . He was quick to criticize Pittsburgh Penguins ' coach Michel Therrien for naming young Penguins ' center Sidney Crosby a team alternate captain shortly after he was hired in 2005 , with the simple statement : " He ' s an 18 - year - old kid . " Charitable work . Don Cherry has lent his considerable persona to selected charitable causes , most significantly , organ donation awareness . In 1997 , Cherry ' s wife , Rose ( whose name motivated Cherry to always wear a rose on his lapel ) died of cancer . Cherry contributed in developing Rose Cherry ' s Home for Kids in Milton , Ontario . The Hershey Centre in Mississauga , Ontario is located on " Rose Cherry Place , " a street named for his late wife . Don Cherry also formerly owned the arena ' s main tenants , the Mississauga IceDogs . Don Cherry in recent years has become one of the biggest public personalities to endorse Cold FX cold medication . In the first year Don Cherry worked for the company , $ 1 from every bottle sold of COLD - fX was donated to Rose Cherry ' s Home for Kids .