Hall of Fame National Hockey League Coach. For 16 seasons, he was the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1977 to 1979), Buffalo Sabers (1980 to 1981), Vancouver Canucks (1982 to 1984), Los Angeles Kings (February to April 1984), New York Rangers (1989 to 1993), Florida Panthers (1993 to 1995), Philadelphia Flyers (1997 to 2000), and Ottawa Senators (two games in April 2002). Born Roger Paul Neilson in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, he attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute and his coaching career began as a student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and continued upon graduation with a degree in Physical Education in both hockey and baseball. In 1966 he became the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes and remained there for 10 years. In 1976 he moved into professional hockey coaching in Dallas, Texas with the Dallas Black Hawks in the Central Hockey League before being hires as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1977. After leaving the Los Angeles Kings in April 1984, he worked for the Edmonton Oilers as a video analyst during the 1984 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which lead to the Oilers' first Stanley Cup championship, and Chicago Blackhawks as an assistant coach from 1984 to 1987. From 1995 to 1997 he was an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues. During the 1987 to 1988 and 1988 to 1989 seasons, he worked as a television analyst for hockey coverage on the TSN Sports Network. In 1997 he was hired to coach the Philadelphia Flyers and in 1999 he was diagnosed with bone cancer, which spread to become skin cancer in 2001. Shortly before the 2000 playoffs, he went on medical leave for cancer treatment and was unceremoniously dismissed by the Flyers General Manager Bobby Clark. He was then hired as an assistant coach of the Ottawa Senators. For the last two games of the 2001 to 2002 season, Head Coach Jacques Martin stepped away from the bench and allowed him to take the reins and become the 9th person to reach the milestone of coaching 1,000 games. His overall regular season record was 460 wins, 378 losses, and 159 ties. Among his most well-known innovations during his professional coaching career was the use of videotape to analyze other teams, leading to the nickname "Captain Video". He was also the first to use microphone headsets to communicate with his assistant coaches. In 2001 he was awarded a Doctor of Laws Degree by McMaster University and in November 2002 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. He was also appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002. He died of cancer in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada at the age of 69. In 2003 the City of Peterborough renamed George Street to South Roger Neilson Way opposite the Memorial Centre Arena. The City of Ottawa renamed their Minor Peewee AAA Hockey Division after Neilson in 2005. Also in 2005, the Ontario Hockey League created an award for the top academic player attending college or university and named it the Roger Neilson Memorial Award in his honor.