Billy Dea

William Fraser Dea (born April 3, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and head coach in the National Hockey League.[1]

Billy Dea
Born (1933-04-03) April 3, 1933
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for NHL
Pittsburgh Penguins
Chicago Black Hawks
Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
AHL
Baltimore Clippers
Buffalo Bisons
Tidewater Wings
CHL
Fort Worth Wings
WHL
Saskatoon Quakers
Vancouver Canucks
Edmonton Flyers
Playing career 19641972

A minor league standout, Dea began his NHL career with a brief fourteen game assignment with the New York Rangers during the 1953–54 season. On August 18, 1955, the Rangers traded the NHL rights to Dea and Aggie Kukulowicz to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Bronco Horvath and Dave Creighton.[2]

In 1957, he joined the Red Wings as a starting two-way forward. The next season, he was traded mid-season to the Chicago Black Hawks. For the next nine years, Dea would play exclusively in the American Hockey League, before expansion gave him another crack at the NHL. During the 1967–68 and 1968-69 campaigns, he was a regular on the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then returned to the Red Wings for an additional two years, ending his career with 67 goals and 54 assists in 397 games.[3][1] In 1975, Dea became an assistant coach with the Red Wings.

In retirement, Dea joined the Detroit front office. During the 1981–82 NHL season, he became the head coach as a mid-season replacement for Wayne Maxner. He currently serves as a scout for the Florida Panthers.

In 2017, he was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame.[4]

Dea earned the nickname "Hard Rock" for his punishing style of play.[5] He is an uncle to NHL defenceman James Wisniewski.[6]

Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1950–51 Lethbridge Native Sons WCJHL 25 22 47 6
1951–52 Lethbridge Native Sons WCJHL 41 44 29 73 10
1952–53 Saskatoon Quakers WHL 3 2 1 3 0
1952–53 Lethbridge Native Sons WCJHL 34 23 57 0
1953–54 New York Rangers NHL 14 1 1 2 2
1953–54 Vancouver Canucks WHL 53 21 13 34 8 12 6 5 11 4
1954–55 Vancouver Canucks WHL 59 18 13 31 13 4 0 1 1 0
1955–56 Edmonton Flyers WHL 70 29 42 71 14 3 2 1 3 4
1956–57 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 15 15 30 14 5 2 0 2 2
1957–58 Detroit Red Wings NHL 29 4 4 8 6
1957–58 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 34 5 8 13 4
1958–59 Buffalo Bisons AHL 70 25 45 70 19 11 5 4 9 4
1959–60 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 28 26 54 20
1960–61 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 35 39 74 10 4 1 2 3 0
1961–62 Buffalo Bisons AHL 70 30 22 52 17 11 0 2 2 2
1962–63 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 20 12 32 25 13 2 8 10 0
1963–64 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 25 16 41 4
1964–65 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 21 19 40 15 9 3 0 3 0
1965–66 Buffalo Bisons AHL 70 32 23 55 17
1966–67 Buffalo Bisons AHL 71 25 39 64 5
1966–67 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 2 0 0 0 2
1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 73 16 12 28 6
1968–69 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 66 10 8 18 4
1969–70 Baltimore Clippers AHL 7 0 1 1 2
1969–70 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 10 3 13 6 4 0 1 1 2
1970–71 Detroit Red Wings NHL 42 6 3 9 2
1970–71 Fort Worth Wings CHL 26 8 15 23 10 4 0 4 4 0
1971–72 Tidewater Wings AHL 72 7 7 14 8
NHL totals 397 67 54 121 44 11 2 1 3 6

NHL coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsFinishResult
Detroit Red Wings1981-82 11380(54)6th in NorrisMissed playoffs

See also

References

  1. "Billy Dea's hockey statistics profile". HockeyDB.com. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  2. "Aggie Kukulowicz trades". NHL Trade Tracker. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  3. "AHL HALL OF FAME WELCOMES CLASS OF 2017". AHL. January 30, 2017.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-10-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Red Wings' gameplan about to be implemented". Fox Sports Detroit. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
Preceded by
Wayne Maxner
Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings
1982
Succeeded by
Nick Polano


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