Bill Clement
Two-time Stanley Cup champion and longtime hockey broadcaster.
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Bill Clement is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player who later became a broadcaster, author, speaker, actor, and entrepreneur. He played 11 seasons in the NHL, winning two Stanley Cup championships with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and 1975, and was named an NHL All-Star twice.
Lore & Background
Clement played junior hockey with the Ottawa 67s and was selected 18th overall in the 1970 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent four seasons with the Flyers, serving as the fourth-line center on their back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams. He was traded to the Washington Capitals, where he served as team captain, and later to the Atlanta Flames, moving with the franchise to Calgary before retiring after the 1981–82 season. Known for a calm passing game, he was sometimes taunted with the rhyme 'Clement, Clement, Hands of Cement,' which Bud Light later referenced in a commercial.
Reader's Guide
After retiring from playing, Clement became a prominent hockey broadcaster, working as a lead color commentator for ESPN's NHL coverage alongside Mike Emrick and later Gary Thorne. He called multiple Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN, SportsChannel America, and ABC, and worked as a studio host for OLN and NBC. He also broadcast five different Olympic Games, covering ice hockey, table tennis, pentathlon, and badminton for NBC and CNBC. Clement provided commentary for EA Sports' NHL video games from NHL 07 through NHL 14, as well as for 2K Sports' NHL 2K series.
He hosted a Flyers-based radio talk show on WBCB 1490 AM and continued local Flyers broadcasts for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In January 2021, he announced his retirement from broadcasting at age 70. A year later, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.
Career statistics and honours
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1967–68 | Ottawa 67's | OHA-Jr. | 38 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Ottawa 67's | OHA-Jr. | 53 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 101 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1969–70 | Ottawa 67's | OHA-Jr. | 54 | 19 | 36 | 55 | 62 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1970–71 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 69 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 88 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971–72 | Richmond Robins | AHL | 26 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 49 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 39 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 42 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 1975–76 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 46 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1975–76 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 31 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976–77 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 67 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977–78 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 70 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1978–79 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 65 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979–80 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 64 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1980–81 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 78 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 33 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 1981–82 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 69 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NHL totals | 719 | 148 | 208 | 356 | 383 | 50 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 26 | ||
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Bill Clement (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
Did You Know?
- He was traded to the Washington Capitals for the right to draft Mel Bridgman first overall.
- He appeared in more than 300 television ads for clients including Chevrolet, Bud Light, and Deepwoods Off.
- Clement became a U.S. citizen on November 4, 2010.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bill Clement (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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