Bud Poile

Norman Robert "Bud" Poile (February 10, 1924 – January 4, 2005) was a professional player, coach, general manager, and league executive. 
==Overview==
Poile was born in Fort William, Ontario and played junior hockey for the Fort William Hurricanes-Rangers. He began his professional career in 1942 as an 18-year-old right winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs and—after a break in his career to serve in the Second World War—was a member of the Leafs' Stanley Cup-winning team of 1947. The next season, he was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in a multi-player deal for Max Bentley. A year later he was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings. Before the 1949–50 season he was acquired by the New York Rangers and was traded mid-season to the Boston Bruins, which would be his final stop in the NHL. 
Poile would spend five more years playing in minor professional leagues as a player-coach, first for the Tulsa Oilers of the United States Hockey League in 1950–51. he then rejoined the Red Wings organization in 1951–52 as player coach of the Red Wings' Maritime Major Hockey League affiliate, the Glace Bay Miners. He moved up to the Wings' Western Hockey League affiliate, the Edmonton Flyers, in 1952–53. He retired as a player in 1954, but would continue to coach the Flyers until 1962. Poile then became head coach of the San Francisco Seals from 1962 to 1966.
With the NHL expansion in 1967, Poile became general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, acquiring key members of the team that would win the Stanley Cup in the 1970s. In 1970, Poile became general manager of another NHL expansion team, the Vancouver Canucks, building that club until leaving in 1973 to join the World Hockey Association as executive vice-president. He left the WHA in May 1976.
In August 1976, Poile became president of the Central Hockey League. During the 1983–84 season he also became commissioner of the International Hockey League. The CHL wound down its operations at the end of that season, and Poile continued in his role with the IHL until retiring in 1989.
Poile was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1990 after a hockey career that spanned six decades. He died in Vancouver on January 4, 2005 after a prolonged struggle with Parkinson's disease. His son, David Poile, has also had a long career in the National Hockey League and was the first general manager of the Nashville Predators.
Poile has had two professional hockey trophies named after him. The first was the N.R. "Bud" Poile Trophy of the International Hockey League, awarded from 1989 to 2001 to the most valuable player of the Turner Cup Playoffs. The second is the Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy of the American Hockey League, awarded to the team that finishes the regular season with the best record in the Western Conference.
==Awards==
* Awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1989.
* Inducted into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.
==Career Statistics==
  	  	Regular Season	 	Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Season 	Team 	League 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
1942–43 	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL 	48 	16 	19	35 	24 	6 	2 	4 	6 	4
1943–44 	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL 	11 	6 	8 	14 	9 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1945–46 	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL 	9 	1 	8 	9 	0 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1946–47 	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL 	59 	19 	17	36 	19 	7 	2 	0 	2 	2
1947–48 	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL 	4 	2 	0 	2 	3 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1947–48 	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL 	54 	23 	29	52 	14 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1948–49 	Chicago Blackhawks 	NHL 	4 	0 	0 	0 	2 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1948–49 	Detroit Red Wings 	NHL 	56 	21 	21	42 	6 	10	0 	1 	1 	2
1949–50 	New York Rangers 	NHL 	28 	3 	6 	9 	8 	12	2 	5 	7 	10
1949–50 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 	38 	16 	14	30 	6 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1950–51 	Tulsa Oilers 	USHL 	60 	15 	38	53 	48 	9 	5 	6 	11 	4
1951–52 	Glace Bay Miners 	MMHL 	84 	33 	60	93 	69 	--	--	--	-- 	--
1952–53 	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	70 	20 	29	49 	62 	15	0 	7 	7 	12
1953–54 	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	49 	12 	39	51 	34 	13	3 	9 	12 	0
1954–55 	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	3 	1 	2 	3 	0 	--	--	--	-- 	--
NHL Totals	311 	107 	122 	229 	91	35 	6 	10	16	18	 	
==Coaching Statistics==
Season 	Team 	League	Type 	G 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pct
1952–53	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	60	21	28	11	0 	.442
1953–54	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	29	30	11	0 	.493
1954–55	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	39	20	11	0 	.636
1955–56	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	33	34	3 	0 	.493
1956–57	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	39	27	4 	0 	.586
1957–58	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach1 	? 	? 	? 	? 	0 	?
1959–60	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	37	29	4 	0 	.557
1960–61	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	27	43	0 	0 	.386
1961–62	Edmonton Flyers 	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	39	27	4 	0 	.586
1962–63	San Francisco Seals	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	44	25	1 	0 	.636
1963–64	San Francisco Seals	WHL 	Head Coach<SUP>2</SUP>	? 	? 	? 	? 	0 	?
1964–65	San Francisco Seals	WHL 	Head Coach 	70	31	37	2 	0 	.457
1965–66	San Francisco Seals	WHL 	Head Coach² 	? 	? 	? 	? 	0 	?
1 Midseason replacement
² Replaced midseaseon
==External Links==
*
Category:Born in 1924
Category:Dead in 2005
Category:Boston Bruins players
Category:Chicago Blackhawks players
Category:Detroit Red Wings players
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame
Category:Lester Patrick Trophy recipients
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players
Category:Retired in 1954
Category:Edmonton Flyers players