Harry Neale

Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster.

Coaching career Neale played as a defenseman for the Toronto Marlboros from 1954 to 1957, winning the Memorial Cup in 1956.

Following his playing career, Neale had his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, where he also taught social studies and physical education. While at Ohio State, he was a physical fitness trainer for the Ohio State football team. He coached the hockey Buckeyes for four seasons, compiling a 49-48-3 record.

Neale returned to the Canucks bench in January 1984 after firing Neilson, However, after a poor start, Neale was fired after 35 games.

Over his career, Neale coached several Hockey Hall of Fame players, including Gordie Howe, Mark Howe, Dave Keon, and Steve Yzerman.

Broadcast career During his coaching and managerial career, he sometimes worked for Hockey Night in Canada as a guest analyst in the playoffs when his team missed the playoffs or was eliminated from Stanley Cup contention. He then began working as a broadcaster full-time in 1986, where he was teamed with play-by-play man Bob Cole on CBC. In addition, Neale occasionally worked on Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames broadcasts. He left the Toronto telecasts after the 2006–07 season to join the Buffalo Sabres broadcast team in 2007.

He is known for the same sense of humour he was famous for as a coach, often referring to the puck as "...bouncing like an Indian rubber (lacrosse) ball", as well as for his estimations of exact distances on the ice. In 2001, he told Ottawa fans they could "take a big bite of my ass" if they did not like him on Hockey Night. He spent the 2012–13 season as a studio analyst for the Sabres' pregame show and intermission reports.

During the 2013–14 season, Neale served as a colour commentator for Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts on Leafs TV, retiring at the end of the 2013–14 season.

On March 25, 2022, Neale served as a colour commentator for the Buffalo Sabres, once again alongside Rick Jeanneret in a guest appearance, for a game involving the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals during the first and second periods.

Head coaching record University Neale was head coach for four seasons at Ohio State University.

In 2013, Neale received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award as an honor of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Personal life Neale grew up in Sarnia, Ontario and moved to East Amherst, New York in 1987. He married a surgical nurse who worked at a Buffalo hospital, and has five children.

During his years of TV commentating with Hockey Night in Canada, he commuted from Buffalo to the Toronto TV studios on the day of the game, until dense traffic on the Queen Elizabeth Way forced a change to stay in a hotel the night before the broadcast.