Son of National Hockey League great Lionel Conacher, Brian
Conacher played his share of NHL hockey before he became a head coach in the
North American Hockey League. Conacher coached the Mohawk Valley Comets for the
1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, along with 12 games at the start of 1975-76. He
wasn’t given much to work with and the Comets were not very successful.
Brian Conacher – Head Coach
In Conacher’s first year as head coach of the Mohawk Valley
Comets, the team placed last in the seven team NAHL with 42 points over 74
games. The Comets finished 19 points behind the sixth place Binghamton Dusters
and 70 points behind the first place Syracuse
Blazers.
1974-75 saw a great improvement in the Comets. The team
totalled 25 more points than the previous season with 67 over 74 games. Mohawk
Valley finished sixth out of eight teams and got their first taste of the Lockhart
Cup post season. However, the Comets fell in the opening round to the
Binghamton Dusters, another team much improved over the previous season.
Mohawk Valley’s success in 1974-75 was largely due to the
goaltending duo of Michel Dion and Jim Park, both in their first year with the
club. Dion went on to play several years in the WHA and NHL while Park played
three years in the WHA. Jim won the Terry Sawchuk Trophy in 1979-80 as the
goaltender on the team in the Central Hockey League with the least goals
against.
Twelve games into the 1975-76 season, Conacher was replaced
by Ted McCaskill. During those 12 games, Brian returned to ice for three,
scoring two goals and assisting on another. McCaskill played four games in the
NHL with the Minnesota North Stars in 1967-68 and was a regular in the World
Hockey Association in 1972-73 and 1973-74 with the Los Angeles Sharks. In
1974-75, he played 40 games in the NAHL with the Binghamton Dusters, his final
games as a pro hockey player.
The team didn’t fare much better under McCaskill, placing
third of five teams in the East Division with 64 points in 74 games. The Comets
then fell in the opening round of the playoffs to the Syracuse Blazers.
Brian Conacher – Pro Hockey Player
Brian
Conacher played a total of 155 regular season games in the National Hockey
League between 1965-66 and 1971-72 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red
Wings. He also appeared in 12 playoff games, all during the 1966-67 season when
the Maple Leafs captured the Stanley Cup championship.
Brian played one last year of pro hockey in 1972-73 before
ending up behind the Mohawk Valley bench. He played for the Ottawa Nationals in
the inaugural season of the WHA. Over his career, he also played in the AHL and
CHL. Conacher played for Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics and the 1965 World
Hockey Championships. He was a Calder Cup champion in the American Hockey
League with the Rochester Americans in 1965-66.
Brian Conacher – Author
In 2007, Conacher published a book titled As the Puck Turns: A Personal Journey Through the World of Hockey. The book chronicled his diverse
life in hockey and peeked inside one of the sport’s royal families.
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