Bill Lochead

William Alexander Lochead (born October 13, 1954 in Forest, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey forward and current coach. He was drafted 1st (9th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1974 NHL draft. He was also selected 3rd (32nd overall) by the Indianapolis Racers in the 1974 WHA draft. Most recently Lochead coached Bad Nauheim EC of the German Oberliga. He was known as Billy Lochead during his playing days in the NHL and was nicknamed "Whip".

Professional career

Minor league hockey

Lochead started his career playing for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association. After entering the league halfway through the 1971–72 season, Lochead starting scoring goals, and never stopped. He recorded 110 points with 56 goals in 1972–73 and 121 points with 57 goals in 1973–74 and was selected to the OHA first and second all-star teams once each. The Detroit Red Wings took notice and drafted him with their first pick in 1974.

National hockey league

Lochead scored 16 goals as a rookie with the Wings in 1974–75 while playing on a line with Bill Hogaboam and Nick Libett. He continued to contribute as a role player for four and a half years which saw his point producing rise as Lochead gained confidence. He finally hit the 20-goal mark in the 1977–78 season, helping the club to reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

Then, halfway through the 1978–79 season, Lochead was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies on February 9, 1979. He would play the final 26 games of the season with Colorado scoring only six points. In the off-season he was traded to the New York Rangers for prospect Hardy Astrom but ended up dressing for only seven games that season as he spent most of the year with the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League. In the lower-tied league he scored 46 goals and was placed on the league's first all-star team. Lochead greatly contributed to the Nighthawks in playoff scoring that year, but the team fell in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Hershey Bears.

International play

Beginning in 1980–81, Lochead decided to try his luck overseas. He joined the highest ice hockey league in Germany, the Bundesliga. He joined Cologne EC and only played in 17 games before being traded to Kaufbeuren ESV. He finished out the season with 52 in the last 22 games and contributed 5 points in Kaufbeuren's short playoff run. During the off-season, Lochead was recoginized as a player who knew the game and could excel if given the chance. He was traded to Bad Nauheim EC for the 1981–82 season and did not disappoint. Lochead put up 66 goals and 34 assists in only 42 games. He was far and away the best scorer on the team but still Bad Nauheim failed to make the playoffs. Lochead would finish as the league leader in both goals and penalty minutes and earn the league MVP award. However, Lochead would be traded again in the off-season to Mannheim ERC, one of the best teams in the league. He continued to score goals, but at a much slower rate as Mannheim also featured scorers such as Manfred Wolf and Doug Berry. Lochead stayed with the team until returning to Bad Nauheim EC for the 1984–85 season. Bad Nauheim was now on the lower-tied 2nd Bundesliga and Lochead once again found his scoring touch. He played his last three years of hockey with the team and put up his best numbers to date in the 1985–86 season. In only 45 games, Lochead scored 71 goals and 49 assists for 120 points on the season. After short stints with Chur of the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband and the Vienna Capitals of the Erste Bank Hockey League, Lochead retired from the ice after the 1987–88 season.

Coaching career

Lochead decided to try his hand at coaching after retiring as a player. His filled in as a midseason replacement for Wolfsburg ESC in 1988 and remained with them the following season. He led the team to a 16–12–4 record in 1988–89. Lochead again crossed the atlantic to coach for two teams in Switzerland within the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband. After coaching Solohum and Olten he returned to Germany to coach Sauerland Iserlohn ECD in the 1993–94 season. After two season with Sauerland he moved back into the top league of Germany the DEL. He was head coach of the Ratingen Lions for the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. Unfortunately, he had a record of 30–61–5 and was let go after Ratingen found themselves as the worst team in the league. Lochead fell away from coaching until recently deciding to coach his old team Bad Nauheim EC (now in the 3rd tiered league, Oberliga). He led them to only seven wins in 47 games.

Awards and achievements

*OMJHL Second All-Star Team (1973)
*OMJHL First All-Star Team (1974)
*AHL First All-Star Team (1980)
*Named Liga-1 Deutschland (Germany-2) MVP (1982)

External links

*hockeydb|00003173
*legendsofhockey|13405
* [http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1974/74009.html Bill's Bio on Hockey Draft Central.com]