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Buffalo Sabres, Craig Berube, Dallas Stars, First Nation, Jack Adams Trophy, Lindy Ruff, Philadelphia Flyers, Ted Nolan
It’s something that Reggie Leach can’t recall seeing during his 14-season National Hockey League career.
With the Buffalo Sabres hiring of Ted Nolan as interim head coach, two Native/First Nation people now pilot National Hockey League teams – Nolan and Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Craig Berube.
“This is probably the first time we’ve had two First Nation coaches ever in the National Hockey League coaching at the same time,” Leach, the former Conn Smythe Trophy-winning Flyers sniper told me. “I think it really helps First Nation people in general that Teddy Nolan is back in coaching. It’s really big in Ontario and it’s really great for the people. They give him a lot of respect, which is great because he earned it.”

Ted Nolan’s back for second stint with Sabres. (Bill Wippert, Buffalo Sabres)
But then the man known as the “Riverton Rifle” during his playing days quickly uttered the mantra that’s only too true in big-money sports today: “If he screws up, they’re going to fire him, it doesn’t matter if he’s First Nation. It doesn’t matter if he’s First Nation or what.”
Still, Leach couldn’t conceal his pleasure about Nolan and Berube gaining – in Nolan’s case, regaining – membership in the NHL coaching fraternity. Leach is First Nation, an Ojibwe, just like Nolan. While Leach knows of Nolan – they lived about 300 miles apart in Ontario – he knows Berube, who played for the Flyers just like he did.They both made their mark wearing the Orange, Black and White: Leach as a feared right wing with a lethal slap shot, and Berube as a fearsome left wing with a lethal right hook.

Craig Berube paid his dues to become the Flyers’ new head coach.
Leach, who played on the famous LCB line with center Bobby Clarke and left wing Bill Barber scored 381 goals in his career. Berube netted 61 goals – what Leach scored in the 1975-61 season alone – in his 20-season NHL tenure and amassed 3,149 penalty minutes.
Berube paid his dues with his fists as a player then paid then again by slowly climbing the coaching ladder to earn the Flyers top spot after the team fired Peter Laviolette in October after a dismal start to the 2013-14 season.
“Craig Berube has spent time coaching in the minors and has been in the Flyer organization for a long team,” Leach said. “Coaching in the minors, being an assistant coach with the National Hockey League team, it’s great they gave a chance at this opportunity right now, which is wonderful for him.”
While Berube’s hiring is an opportunity, Buffalo’s nod to Nolan is a second chance. He coached Buffalo from 1995 to 1997 and amassed a record of 73-72-1. He was also the bench boss for the New York Islanders from 2006 to 2008.

Sniper Reggie Leach, Number 27, in his Flyers heyday.
Nolan was a popular figure in Buffalo; he even won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s top coach 1996-97 season. But a poor relationship with then-General Manager John Muckler led to his ouster as coach.
Aside from his stint with the Islanders, Nolan barely got a whiff of interest from National Hockey League teams. Some in the hockey world speculated it was because of his heritage.
“I never said it was racism,” Nolan told The Toronto Star Wednesday, the day he introduced as the Sabres’ interim coach. But “when you’re not part of a group, it’s tough to fit into that group – whether it’s hockey or anything else.”
“If you don’t know someone from a different background, different race, it’s hard to get to know them,” he told the paper. “So it was very hard…You have to try to fit in.”
After years of getting the cold shoulder from NHL teams, Nolan now has two coaching

“Riverton Rifle” Leach firing for Flyers in alumni game.
gigs – with the Sabres and with the Latvian team that will play in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February.
In irony of ironies, Nolan will be in Russia with Dallas Stars Head Coach Lindy Ruff, who replaced Nolan in Buffalo in 1997. Ruff is an associate coach for Team Canada. And Laviolette, the man Berube succeeded in Philadelphia, is an associate coach for the U.S. hockey team.
Nolan’s never been shy about his heritage. In June, he spoke to The Buffalo News’ Tim Graham about his objection to Washington’s National Football League team being called the Redskins.
“Sure, the Redskins name has been around for generations,” Nolan told Graham, “but when you’re a person of that race and someone calls you a redskin, they don’t know why they’re saying it, where the word comes from or what the word means.”
Leach thinks Nolan’s tenure in the NHL will be a long one this time. With age, Nolan is 55, comes experience.
“You learn by your mistakes and you comeback,” Leach told me. “It took him a long time – a period of over 15 years – to get back. And he’ll learn from it and stay longer this time. He’s qualified to coach, and they’ve got to give him a chance. I believe myself that if you give him a chance for 2-3-4 years in one position, he’ll do really well.”
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Very happy to see Ted Nolan back in the NHL and especially pleased to note that he and Craig Berube are getting the recognition they deserve, not just as Aboriginal contributors, but as qualified Canadians who are making a positive difference in the lives of our young children and hockey-playing youth.
JRC
Bill — As I promised you tonight, here is my list of First Nations athletes that have made the NHL. This includes (to the best of my knowledge) their position and teams they played on. I would love to hear back what you think! Rose
First Nations Hockey Players Who Have Made the NHL
Blair Atcheynum, Cree, Forward, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks
George Armstrong, Algonquin/Ojibwe Forward, Toronto Maple Leafs, Member of Stanley Cup Team and Hockey Hall of Fame
Arron Asham, Métis, Forward, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburg Penguins, New York Rangers
Craig Berube, Cree, Forward, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Member of Hockey Hall of Fame
Henry Boucha, Ojibwe, Forward, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars,
Rene Bourque, Métis, Forward, Montreal Canadiens
John Chabot, Algonquin, Forward, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburg Penguins, Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Cheechoo, Moose Cree Forward, St. Louis Blues
Kyle Chipchura, Métis, Forward, Phoenix Coyotes
Dan Cloutier, Nation???? Goaltender, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings
Kimbi Daniels, Assiniboine or Cree?, Forward, Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Daniels, Cree, Forward, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers
Ron Delorme, Cree/ Métis, Forward, Vancouver Canucks
Gerald Diduck, Nation???, Defense, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vernon Fiddler, Métis Stars, Predators
Theoren Fleury, Métis, Forward, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Dan Frawley, Ojibwe, Forward, Chicago Blackhawks
Jeff Friesen, Nation??? Forward, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Calgary Flames, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Stu Grimson, Nation???? Forward, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators
“Ted” Edward James Hodgson, Cree, Boston Bruins
Stan ”Bulldog” Jonathan, Mohawk, Forward, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins
Chris Kelly, Forward, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins
D. J. King, Métis, Forward, Washington Capitals
Dwight King, Métis, Forward, LA Kings
Wayne King, Ojibwe, Forward, California Golden Seals,
Dan Kordic, Nation ???? Forward, Philadelphia Flyers
Denny Lambert, Ojibwe, Forward, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers
Jamie Leach, Cree?, Forward, Pittsburg Penguins, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Reggie Leach, Cree?, Forward, Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia
Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Sandy McCarthy, Mi’Kmaq, Forward, Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins
Cody McCormick, Oneida/Chippewa/Ojibwe/Métis/Mohawk (jeez!), Forward, Buffalo Sabres
Dale McCourt, Algonquin, nephew of George Armstrong, Detroit Redwings, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs
Victor Dennis Mercredi, ???, Forward, Atlanta Flames
Dody Michael, Nation??? Wood Forward, San Jose Sharks
Brantt Myhres, Métis, Position?, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins
Jim Neilson, Cree, Defense, New York Rangers, California Golden Seals, Edmonton Oilers
Ted Nolan, Cree/Ojibwe, Forward, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburg Penguins
Wayne Gino Odjick, Algonquin, Forward, Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens
T. J. Oshie, Métis?, Forward, St. Louis Blues
Mike Peluso, Defense, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Rich Pilon, Nation???, Forward, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues
Carey Price, Dene (Ulkatcho), Goaltender, Montreal Canadiens
Wade Redden, Métis?, Defense, New York Rangers
Jamie Rivers, Nation?? Defense, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes
Frank St. Marseille, Metis/Ojibwe, Position?, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings
Everett Sanipass, Mi’Kmak, Forward, Chicago Blackhawks, Quebec Nordiques
Gary Allen Sargent, Ojibwe, Kings
Fred Sasakamoose, Sandy Lake Cree, Blackhawks, first ever First Nation to become an NHL hockey player
Chris Simon, Ojibwe, Forward, Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Member of Stanley Cup Team
Bobby Simpson, Kahnawake Mohawk, Forward, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins
Sheldon Souray, Métis, Oilers Defense, Anaheim Ducks
Jordin Tootoo, Nunavut Inuit, Forward, Nashville Predators
Bryan Trottier, Cree/Chippewa/Metis, Forward, New York Islanders, Pittsburg Penguins, Member of Stanley Cup Team and Hockey Hall of Fame
Darcy Tucker, Métis, Forward, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche
Dennis Vial, Nation??? Defense, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators
Harry York, Cree, Forward, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Pittsburg Penguins, Vancouver Canucks