The Ontario Hockey League is mourning the loss of former Kitchener Rangers head coach Joe Crozier, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93.
A native of Winnipeg, Man., Crozier coached the Rangers to their first Memorial Cup title in 1982, his first of two seasons at the helm in Kitchener. The ’82 Rangers featured such names as leading scorer Brian Bellows, star blueliner Al MacInnis, hard-hitting defender Scott Stevens and eventual long-time NHLer Mike Eagles as they hoisted the Memorial Cup after defeating the Sherbrooke Castors in Hull, Quebec.
Better known for his immense success coaching the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, Crozier won three Calder Cup championships in a span of four years from 1965-68 before steering the WHL’s Vancouver Canucks to a league championship a year later. He’d go on to coach the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs before coming to the OHL ranks where he led the Rangers to Memorial Cup glory.
Prior to his coaching career, Crozier played 12 years of pro hockey as a defenceman, most prominently with the QHL’s Quebec Aces. He got into five games as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1959-60 campaign.
Crozier was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2012 as a result of his 305-199-46 coaching record and three Calder Cup championships. He’s one of 21 members of the AHL’s 300-win coaching fraternity.
For more on the life and career of Joe Crozier, visit theahl.com.
We join the rest of the hockey community in mourning the loss of legendary coach and Hall of Famer Joe Crozier.
Our thoughts are with his family. pic.twitter.com/BGEtLuANON
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) October 12, 2022
