Roland McLenahan
Roland Joseph "Rollie" McLenahan (October 26, 1921 – April 23, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 60 games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings during the 1945–46 NHL season.
| Rollie McLenahan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 26, 1921 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | ||
| Died |
April 23, 1984 (aged 62) Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
NHL Detroit Red Wings AHL Indianapolis Capitals Cleveland Barons Hershey Bears Buffalo Bisons IHL Cincinnati Mohawks | ||
| Playing career | 1941–1957 | ||
Playing career
A native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, he played the position of defense with the following teams:
- Marysville Royals, 1935–1936
- Devon Northsiders, 1936–1938
- Fredericton Merchants, 1938–1939
- Windsor Mills, 1939–1940
- Guelph Biltmores, 1940–1941
- Washington Eagles, 1941–1942
- Sudbury Tigers, 1942–1943 and 1944–1945
- Sudbury Open Pit Miners, 1943–1944
- Detroit Red Wings, 1945–1946
- Indianapolis Capitals, 1945–1946
- Cleveland Barons, 1946–1947
- Hershey Bears, 1947–1950
- Buffalo Bisons, 1950–1951
- Fredericton Capitals, 1951–1953
- Sudbury Wolves, 1952–1953
- Cincinnati Mohawks, 1953–1957
McLenahan was a member of the AHL First All Star Team in 1950, and a member of the IHL First All-Star Team in 1954, 1955, and 1956. He retired from playing hockey following the 1956-1957 season.
Post-retirement
From 1957 to 1958, he was head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans,[1] who won the Calder Cup that year. He later served as a Director for the Department of Youth for the Province of New Brunswick from 1961 to 1981. He was a scout for Montreal from 1960 to 1968, and a member of the Canada Games Council. McLenahan also served as director of the CAHA, and a director of Hockey Canada. He helped found the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, and the New Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association.
In 1981, he was discovered to have lung cancer, but the cancer spread to his brain. He died in his native Fredericton, at the age of 62, on April 23, 1984, and was buried in the Fredericton Hermitage Cemetery. He was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 2005, Krista Betts, a gold medal winner in Canadian Women's Wrestling at the Canada Games who is from the small farming community of Bass River, Weldford Parish, New Brunswick received the prestigious Roly McLenahan Award.