Simpson Says

By Kelly Sharp

Owning an electrical contracting business in his hometown of Shellbrook and dabbling in senior hockey as a player- coach suited Terry Simpson just fine. But a call for help from nearby Prince Albert Saskatchewan began a remarkable rise to the National Hockey League. Simpson had agreed on a temporary basis to coach the fledgling Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Little did Terry Simpson realize that his daily commute from Shellbrook to Prince Albert would become the road to a career hockey coach.

With Simpson behind the bench the Prince Albert Raiders grew into a junior A juggernaut, capturing  four Centennial Cups in six years and finishing as runners-up another year. The success of the Raiders launched the community-owned team into the Western Hockey League.

“It was not an easy jump to major junior,” Terry Simpson said.

 The Raiders finished 16-55-1 that first WHL season. But in his third season of coaching Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League Terry Simpson watched his players hoist the Memorial Cup.

“We had good teams,” Simpson said.

“Every time you have good players you are a good coach, we had good teams. I think in most of these hockey organizations the scouting is the most important part.”

Terry Simpson’s modest nature downplays a junior record that vaulted him into coaching in the National Hockey League.

“It’s a matter of success, fortunately to be with good teams, you get some credit whether you deserve it or not,” the one-time Estevan junior hockey player said.

After fifteen years of coaching junior hockey in Prince Albert, Terry Simpson found himself head coach of the New York Islanders. Twenty seven games into his third season with the Islanders and the insecure profession of coaching reared its ugly head. The New York Times wrote the struggling Isles chose the classic approach and dismissed Terry Simpson.

“The first time fired it was pretty devastating,” Simpson said.

“I don’t know why I thought I was immune to it.”

Terry Simpson rebounded from that initial dismissal to reach a total of 338 games as a head coach in the National Hockey League. He was head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers and the last head coach of the Winnipeg Jets before the franchise moved to Phoenix. Simpson was an assistant with the Flyers, Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I always said if you can live your life backwards you could probably do better,” chuckled Terry Simpson.

The sixty three year-old fondly looks back at a coaching career that produced so many memories and friendships. It was a coaching career that began so innocently in the fall of 1972.

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