Glen Sather—Before The Reign

In November, 1997, Glen Cameron Sather became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, thanks to his work as the president, general manager and coach of the Oilers. However, before Sather wore a suit and tie and paced behind the Oilers bench, he was a dependable National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) forward.

As a coach, Sather was known as a master offensive tactician, but, ironically, as a player he was famous for being a defensive specialist—a forward who excelled at killing penalties and checking the best centre in the opposing lineup. Sather made his Edmonton debut as a scrappy, young forward with the junior Edmonton Oil Kings. Team General Manager Leo LeClerc added Sather to the Oil Kings’ roster in 1962, and the next season, he was part of the team that won the Memorial Cup.

Sather graduated from the Oil Kings program in 1964. Scouts knew he was never going to be a 20- or 30-goal scorer at the NHL level, but his strong work ethic could keep him in the game. Sather had to prove at the minor pro level that he deserved an NHL shot, playing in far-flung outposts such as Oklahoma City and Memphis before cracking the Boston Bruins lineup as a regular in 1967. That year the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams, making more jobs available in the league.

In just over two seasons with the Bruins, Sather played in 146 games, scoring just 12 times. With Boston, he emerged as a hard working, defensive specialist who was willing to sacrifice his body for the team. He then spent two seasons with the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins before moving to the New York Rangers in 1971.

He spent 186 games with the Rangers before he was sent to St. Louis for most of the 1973-74 season-- his best as an NHLer. The Blues gave him an expanded role, and he responded with a 15-goal, 44-point campaign. Sather’s improved numbers attracted the attention of Sam Pollock, the legendary Montréal Canadiens general manger, who brought Sather over to the Habs for the 1974-75 season. Sather did not post the same kind of numbers that he had with the Blues, but his season was Montreal would be the most formative year that Sather would have in hockey. As well as a defensive specialists, Sather was an astute student of the game. In Montreal, he got to see firsthand how Pollock operated and maintained one of the elite franchises in the league. It was from Pollock that Sather learned how to build a dynasty team.

Sather moved on to the Minnesota North Stars in 1975, and finished his NHL career with 80 goals in 658 games. In 1976, Sather was lured to the Oilers of the World Hockey Association. Sather, like so many of the other Oilers at the time, was a meat-and-potatoes Alberta son; a man who would gladly give up the glitz of the NHL for the chance to play pro hockey close to home. Sather played 81 games as an Oiler, scoring a total of 19 times, his high for a pro career.

Oilers' management saw the coaching potential of the astute forward and posed a interesting challenge: give up his career as a player and take a place on the bench, as head coach. In 1977, Sather accepted the challenge and began to coach the same players he had called teammates just days before.

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