Scott Neil

Andrew Scott Neil, known as Scott Neil, (born 1 August 1962 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a retired British ice hockey player who played in the United Kingdom between 1985 and 2002. He also played for the Great Britain national team between 1989 and 1994. He was inducted into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Neil is currently the owner of the Edinburgh Capitals in the British Elite Ice Hockey League.

Playing career

Club After playing junior ice hockey in Edinburgh, Neil went to university in Canada. When he returned to the United Kingdom he rejoined the Edinburgh setup as a senior player with the Murrayfield Racers in 1985 playing in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League. In his seven seasons with the Racers, he helped the team to win the league championship in 1986–87 and 1987–88; the Norwich Union Trophy in 1985; and reaching the playoff finals weekend at Wembley Arena every year bar one and winning the playoffs in 1986. He was also twice named the British All Star team.

In 1992, Neil joined the Sheffield Steelers in Division 1 of the British Hockey League. In his five seasons with the Steelers, he helped them to gain promotion to the Premier Division as well as to win the grand slam of the Benson & Hedges Cup, the league championship and the playoff championship in 1994–95; as well as the playoff championship in 1996 and 1997 and the league championship in 1995–96.

Neil returned to Edinburgh in 1997 where he had helped form the Murrayfield Royals, who later changed their name to the Edinburgh Capitals. Neil retired from playing at the end of the 2001–02 season. He also coached the Capitals for the 2006–07 season after the previous coach, and his cousin, Tony Hand, left to coach the Manchester Phoenix. However, the following season, 2007–08, he hired Doug Christiansen to coach the Capitals.

International Neil played for the Great Britain national team seven times between 1989 and 1994. During this time he helped the team gain promotion from Pool D to Pool A of the Ice Hockey World Championships and taking part in the Olympic Qualifiers in 1993. In total Neil scored 23 goals and 12 assists for 35 points in the games he played for his country.

Awards and honours Named to the Premier League British All Star team in 1988 and 1989. Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Career statistics

Club Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1985–86 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 28 29 20 49 43 6 3 5 8 6 1986–87 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 36 42 52 94 19 6 4 1 5 6 1987–88 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 36 71 57 128 6 5 8 3 11 2 1988–89 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 36 82 41 123 14 4 2 2 4 2 1989–90 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 32 66 37 103 20 6 6 4 10 2 1990–91 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 36 60 41 101 18 7 7 6 13 0 1991–92 Murrayfield Racers BHL Prem 35 30 42 72 8 6 3 6 9 2 1992–93 Sheffield Steelers BHL 1 32 47 52 99 18 1993–94 Sheffield Steelers BHL Prem 57 48 54 102 26 8 3 6 9 12 1994–95 Sheffield Steelers BHL Prem 44 21 31 52 18 8 3 4 7 8 1995–96 Sheffield Steelers BHL Prem 34 4 11 15 12 1996–97 Sheffield Steelers ISL 32 2 1 3 0 8 0 2 2 0 1997–98 Murrayfield Royals BNL 40 34 42 76 20 1998–99 Edinburgh Capitals BNL 26 4 8 12 4 3 0 0 0 0 1999–00 Edinburgh Capitals BNL 7 1 0 1 14 3 0 0 0 0 2001–02 Edinburgh Capitals BNL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --

International Tournament Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1989 Great Britain World Championships Pool D 4 5 4 9 0 1990 Great Britain World Championships Pool D 4 5 3 8 0 1991 Great Britain World Championships Pool C 8 7 1 8 10 1992 Great Britain World Championships Pool C 5 6 4 10 4 1993 Great Britain World Championships Pool B 5 0 0 0 0 1993 Great Britain Olympic Qualifiers 4 0 0 0 0 1994 Great Britain World Championships Pool A

Footnotes