Brian Blair Kilrea (born October 21, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey head coach, general manager, and player. He played 26 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings between 1958 and 1967, with the rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1955 to 1970, spent in American Hockey League. Kilrea then became a coach. He coached and managed the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League for 32 seasons between 1974 and 2015, after which he continued as general manager. He is a Hockey Hall of Fame member in the Builders category.
Playing career
Kilrea played his first major junior season with the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1954–55. In his playing career, he played only 26 NHL games, although he had great success in the minor leagues. Kilrea spent four seasons with the Troy Bruins of the IHL, where he was named a second-team All-Star in 1958–1959. Most of Kilrea's career was spent with the AHL's Springfield Indians, where he was a multiple All-Star and the franchise's career leader in assists. He has been named to the Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame. Kilrea played under Eddie Shore and credits Shore with teaching him many things that he took into his coaching career.
Kilrea returned to the NHL briefly, with expansion in 1967. Kilrea has the distinction of scoring the first-ever goal for the NHL Los Angeles Kings. It was during his time with the team's AHL franchise that the roots for what would become the National Hockey League Players' Association would arise, as a direct result of the efforts of Kilrea and Alan Eagleson, then the agent for Bobby Orr.
On March 15, 2009, Ottawa beat the Kingston Frontenacs 5–3 to give Kilrea a win in his final regular season game, giving him 1,193 wins all-time.
Kilera returned behind the bench on October 17, 2014, for the Ottawa 67's to celebrate his 80th birthday. He became the oldest coach in hockey history, winning career game number 1,194 by a score of 6–3 against the Mississauga Steelheads.
Kilrea served as a recurring assistant coach to Don Cherry in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
Personal life
Kilrea is a nephew of former NHL players Wally, Ken, and Hec Kilrea.
Since 1976, Kilrea has co-owned a restaurant with Nick Bouris called Chances R in Ottawa's west end. He is an honorary member of the Rideau View Country Club, a golf club in Manotick, Ontario.
Kilrea had a heart attack on August 12, 2012, and subsequently underwent triple bypass surgery.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1953–54
| Hamilton Tiger Cubs
| OHA
| 58 || 26 || 34 || 60 || 69
| 6 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1954–55
| Hamilton Tiger Cubs
| OHA
| 49 || 27 || 25 || 52 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1955–56
| Troy Bruins
| IHL
| 60 || 16 || 36 || 52 || 22
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1956–57
| Troy Bruins
| IHL
| 60 || 9 || 35 || 44 || 46
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1957–58
| Edmonton Flyers
| WHL
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1957–58
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1958–59
| Troy Bruins
| IHL
| 54 || 33 || 60 || 93 || 44
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1959–60
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 63 || 14 || 27 || 41 || 26
| 8 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4
|-
| 1960–61
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 70 || 20 || 67 || 87 || 47
| 8 || 1 || 5 || 6 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1961–62
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 70 || 20 || 73 || 93 || 28
| 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|-
| 1962–63
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 72 || 25 || 50 || 75 || 34
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1963–64
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 72 || 22 || 61 || 83 || 28
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1964–65
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 72 || 23 || 54 || 77 || 18
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1965–66
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 70 || 13 || 47 || 60 || 14
| 6 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 0
|-
| 1966–67
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 63 || 25 || 38 || 63 || 29
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1967–68
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 25 || 3 || 5 || 8 || 12
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1967–68
| Springfield Kings
| AHL
| 38 || 7 || 25 || 32 || 14
| 4 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1968–69
| Vancouver Canucks
| WHL
| 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1968–69
| Tulsa Oilers
| CHL
| 24 || 11 || 25 || 36 || 12
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1968–69
| Rochester Americans
| AHL
| 33 || 2 || 11 || 13 || 4
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1969–70
| Denver Spurs
| WHL
| 32 || 5 || 14 || 19 || 8
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | AHL totals
! 623 !! 171 !! 453 !! 624 !! 242
! 28 !! 4 !! 11 !! 15 !! 6
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 26 !! 3 !! 5 !! 8 !! 12
! — !! — !! — !! — !! —
|}
Coaching record
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:centre;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="7"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason
|-
! G !! W !! L !! T !! OTL !! Pts !!Finish !! Result
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1974–75
| 70 || 33 || 30 || 7 || – || 73
| 4th in OMJHL
| Lost in the first round
|-
!Ottawa 67's
| 1975–76
| 66 || 34 || 23 || 9 || – || 77
| 2nd in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1976–77
| 66 || 38 || 23 || 5 || – || 81
| 1st in Leyden
| Won J. Ross Robertson Cup
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1977–78
| 68 || 43 || 18 || 7 || – || 93
| 1st in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1978–79
| 68 || 30 || 38 || 0 || – || 60
| 4th in Leyden
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1979–80
| 68 || 45 || 20 || 3 || – || 93
| 2nd in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1980–81
| 68 || 45 || 20 || 3 || – || 93
| 2nd in Leyden
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1981–82
| 68 || 47 || 19 || 2 || – || 96
| 1st in Leyden
| Lost OHL Finals
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1982–83
| 70 || 46 || 21 || 3 || – || 95
| 1st in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1983–84
| 70 || 50 || 18 || 2 || – || 102
| 1st in Leyden
| Won J. Ross Robertson Cup<br>Won 1984 Memorial Cup
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1986–87
| 66 || 33 || 28 || 5 || – || 71
| 3rd in Leyden
| Lost in Second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1987–88
| 66 || 38 || 26 || 2 || – || 78
| 2nd in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1988–89
| 66 || 30 || 32 || 4 || – || 64
| 5th in Leyden
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1989–90
| 66 || 38 || 26 || 2 || – || 78
| 4th in Leyden
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1990–91
| 66 || 39 || 25 || 2 || – || 80
| 4th in Leyden
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1991–92
| 66 || 32 || 30 || 4 || – || 68
| 6th in Leyden
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1992–93
| 66 || 16 || 42 || 8 || – || 40
| 8th in Leyden
| Missed playoffs
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1993–94
| 66 || 33 || 22 || 11 || – || 77
| 2nd in Leyden
| Lost in the third round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1995–96
| 66 || 39 || 22 || 5 || – || 83
| 1st in East
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1996–97
| 66 || 49 || 11 || 6 || – || 104
| 1st in East
| Lost OHL Finals
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1997–98
| 66 || 40 || 17 || 9 || –|| 89
| 1st in East
| Lost OHL Finals
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1998–99
| 68 || 48 || 13 || 7 || – || 103
| 1st in East
| Lost in second round<br>Won 1999 Memorial Cup
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 1999–00
| 68 || 43 || 20 || 4 || 1 || 91
| 1st in East
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2000–01
| 68 || 33 || 21 || 10 || 4 || 80
| 2nd in East
| Won J. Ross Robertson Cup
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2001–02
| 68 || 36 || 20 || 10 || 2 || 84
| 2nd in East
| Lost in the second round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2002–03
| 68 || 44 || 14 || 7 || 3 || 98
| 1st in East
| Lost OHL Finals
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2003–04
| 68 || 29 || 26 || 9 || 4 || 71
| 1st in East
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2004–05
| 68 || 34 || 26 || 7 || 1 || 76
| 2nd in East
| Lost OHL Finals
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2005–06
| 68 || 29 || 31 || – || 8 || 66
| 4th in East
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2006–07
| 68 || 30 || 34 || – || 4 || 64
| 4th in East
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2007–08
| 68 || 29 || 34 || – || 5 || 63
| 3rd in East
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2008–09
| 68 || 40 || 21 || – || 7 || 87
| 2nd in East
| Lost in the first round
|-
! Ottawa 67's
| 2014–15
| 1 || 1 || 0 || – || 0 || 2
|
|
|-
|- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd"
! OHL totals
!
! 2156 !! 1193 !! 771 !! 153 !! 39 !! 2578
|}