Son of hockey legend Lionel Conacher, Brian Conacher may not have made quite the footprint as a player as his father did but he did make his mark in the game of hockey. Over more than half a century, Brian played and coached, was a general manager, acted as president of the NHLPA and was a broadcaster, among other things.
Brian Conacher – The Player
After four years of junior with the Toronto Marlboros from 1958-59 to 1961-62, Brian spent a lot of his time with the Canadian National Team before getting a shot at the National Hockey League.
Conacher played at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games for Canada. The games were held in Innsbruck, Austria and Canada placed fourth behind the Soviet Union, Sweden and Czechoslovakia. In seven games, Brian scored seven goals.
The following year, Brian and Team Canada again placed fourth, this time at the 1965 World Hockey Championships held in Tampere, Finland. It was the same three countries on the podium, this time with the Czech’s taking silver and the Swede’s falling to third place.
He played one game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1961-62 but Conacher saw the bulk of his NHL action between 1965-66 and 1971-72. He played a total of 155 regular season games with Toronto and the Detroit Red Wings, scoring 28 and assisting on 28 for 56 points. His only 12 playoff games came in 1966-67 as the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup championship, getting another Conacher name engraved on the holy grail of hockey.
The previous season, Brian was a member of a Calder Cup championship team in the American Hockey League. The 1965-66 Rochester Americans met up with the Cleveland Barons in the finals with the Amerks coming out ahead in six games. Conacher played 69 games for Rochester during the regular season, contributing 30 points. In 12 playoff games, he scored six goals for six points.
After playing just 22 games for the Red Wings in 1971-72, his final season in the NHL, Brian jumped to the World Hockey Association for the rebel league’s inaugural season. He played one year with the Ottawa Nationals in 1972-73, scoring eight goals and assisting on 19 for 27 points over 69 games.
Brian Conacher – The Coach
Conacher was head coach in the North American Hockey League for parts of three seasons. He coached the Mohawk Valley Comets for all of 1973-74 and 1974-75 and was replaced just 12 games into the 1975-76 season. The NAHL existed primarily as a farm league for the WHA between 1973-74 and 1976-77. During his time with the Comets, Brian got a chance to play the game again. In three games in 1975-76, he scored two goals and assisted on one.
Brian Conacher – The Hockey Cards
Conacher got his image on the front of just two major brand hockey cards during his playing days. The Brian Conacher rookie card appears as number 17 in the 1967-68 Topps set. The card shows him as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and is valued as a common card.
His only other card was number 138 Brian Conacher hockey card in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set. On this card, he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings. As mentioned above, Conacher would play just 22 games for Detroit in 1971-72, his last hockey in the National Hockey League.
Brian Conacher – The Author
In 2007, Conacher authored As the Puck Turns: A Personal Journey Through the World of Hockey