SASKATOON -- Jim Neilson, an Indigenous hockey player who learned to play in a Saskatchewan orphanage and became a stalwart NHL defenceman, has died.
He was 79.
“His humble beginnings really shaped the way he played hockey, he really wanted to play with integrity and hard work,” said Bryann Seib, curator at the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
“He’s definitely established himself as one of the greats of Saskatchewan hockey and Saskatchewan does have a strong hockey history.”
Neilson, born in Big River, played most of his career with the New York Rangers, from 1962 to 1974. He was best known as a stay-at-home type of defenceman.
Neilson and the Rangers almost won a Stanley Cup in 1972, but lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Neilson was ranked #42 on the all-time list of 100 Ranger Greats for his contributions while playing for New York.
According to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, he almost won the Norris trophy for best defenceman in the NHL in the 1967/68 season, losing out to superstar Bobby Orr.
In his final season of professional hockey in 1978-79, he was on the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association, playing with a young Wayne Gretzky.
Over the course of his career Neilson racked up more than 1,000 games played, earning himself the NHL’s Milestone award.
The four time NHL All-Star was added to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and to the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
