Bill McCreary Sr. to serve as Assistant Coach this weekend

The Danbury Hat Tricks will have a new face behind the bench this weekend as they take on the Columbus River Dragons. Bill McCreary Sr., former Toronto Maple Leaf and father of Hat Tricks head coach Billy McCreary, will serve as interim assistant coach for the team this weekend.

McCreary Sr. was drafted in the 6th round, 114th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played from 1980-1988, garnering national headlines for his open-ice hit on Wayne Gretzky on January 3rd, 1981. He is one of a long list of McCreary family members to play professional hockey, as the son of founding St. Louis Blues member Bill McCreary, nephew of NHLers Keith McCreary and Ron Attwell, cousins with former NHLer Bob Attwell and cousins with Hall of Fame referee Bill McCreary.

McCreary Sr. traveled from Brighton, Michigan to join his son behind the bench. He will take the place of assistant coach Adam Blanchette for the weekend, as Blanchette battles the flu.