Hockey fans and organizations across the country are mourning legendary coach Ernie “Punch” McLean, who died in a crash in northern BC at the age of 93.
RCMP said investigators have confirmed that McLean was the only victim in the single-vehicle crash about 30 kilometers south of Dease Lake.
McLean coached 16 seasons in the Western Hockey League with the New Westminster Bruins and Estevan Bruins.
After six seasons in Estevan, McLean and partner Bill Shinske moved the Bruins from Saskatchewan to BC, where he guided the New Westminster Bruins to four consecutive WHL championships from 1975 to 1978 and two Memorial Cup titles in 1977 and 1978.
He also coached the Estevan Bruins to the WHL title in 1968, which made him the only man to win five WHL titles as a coach.
The Vancouver Canucks were among those who took to social media to honor the coach, citing McLean’s record of four Memorial Cup appearances, two championships and a coach to more than 100 players in the NHL.
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The post called it “a presence that can never be replaced.”
“Ernie ‘Punch’ McLean was one of a kind — a legend of the game who gave his all for this province and the players lucky enough to call him coach,” the Canucks post said.
McLean coached a total of 1,067 WHL games and also led Canada to a bronze medal at the 1979 world junior men’s hockey championship.
The Western Hockey League issued its own statement, offering condolences on behalf of the WHL and its 23 member clubs to his friends, family and everyone who knew McLean.
This tragic news comes the same week that the Ernie Punch McLean Foundation launched a campaign to build a permanent statue in McLean’s honor at the Queens Park Arena in New Westminster.
McLean attended a news conference Wednesday when the campaign launched.
RCMP said in a press release Friday that officers responded to a call from a local road maintenance worker around 12:15 a.m. Friday, who reported finding the car under an embankment.
They said the cause of the crash is unknown but their investigation shows that the man swerved and left the roadway, causing him to be thrown from his vehicle.
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