Howie Meeker

Lore & Background

Meeker played junior hockey with the Kitchener Greenshirts and later the Stratford Kist, where he scored 29 goals and 45 points in 13 games. After serving in the Canadian Army and recovering from a severe injury, he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946–47. In his rookie season, he scored 27 goals and 45 points, won the Calder Memorial Trophy, and tied an NHL record with five goals in a game against the Chicago Black Hawks. He won his first of four Stanley Cups that year, part of three consecutive championships. A collarbone injury limited him in 1948–49, but he won a fourth Cup in 1951. Meeker later coached the Maple Leafs for one season and served briefly as general manager. He also served two years as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Waterloo South while still playing for the Leafs.

Reader's Guide

Meeker's significance extends beyond his playing career. He became a pioneering hockey broadcaster, using a telestrator on Hockey Night in Canada to break down strategy, often directing producers to 'stop it right here' to freeze the action. His educational television series Howie Meeker's Hockey School, which ran from 1973 to 1977 on CBC, taught basic skills to young players and criticized poor instruction and equipment. He authored Howie Meeker's Hockey Basics in 1973. Meeker was involved with Special Olympics for over 40 years, helping launch Special Olympics Canada and hosting the Howie Meeker Charity Golf Classic for 30 years. He also raised funds for BC Guide Dog Services. He received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 1998, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a broadcaster that same year, and was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010. He was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Did You Know?

• Meeker scored five goals in a game as a rookie against the Chicago Black Hawks on January 8, 1947.
• He was the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs 1947 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1949 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1951 Stanley Cup team, and the inaugural NHL All-Star Game.
• His phrase 'Keep your stick on the ice' was later popularized by comedian Red Green.
• Meeker was the fastest Maple Leafs player to score 25 goals, a record later surpassed by Auston Matthews.

The Maple Leafs' Scoring Machine

Howie Meeker's professional journey began in the junior ranks of Ontario, where a blistering thirteen-game stretch with the Stratford Kist—29 goals and 45 points—helped lift the team to an OHA Junior-B championship. After a wartime injury and full recovery, he returned to the OHA with the Stratford Indians before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs as a right winger for the 1946–47 campaign. That debut season became the defining high point of his playing career: 27 goals, 45 points, the Calder Memorial Trophy, and a five-goal outburst against the Chicago Black Hawks that tied the NHL rookie single-game record. He also appeared in the very first NHL All-Star Game. The Leafs went on to capture four Stanley Cups during his tenure—1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951—though a collarbone injury in 1948–49 kept him out of the playoff run that year. Meeker's scoring never matched that rookie explosion, yet he remained with Toronto for several more seasons before stepping away from the NHL. Remarkably, he kept playing sporadically for senior clubs for another fifteen years, not hanging up his skates until 1969.

The Voice Behind the Telestrator

In the 1970s and 1980s, Meeker reinvented himself as one of Canadian television's most energetic studio analysts on Hockey Night in Canada. His signature routine involved replaying overhead camera footage and freezing the image with his now-famous "stop it right here" command before tracing lines on the telestrator to dissect a play. He also contributed to Vancouver Canucks broadcasts on BCTV and later joined TSN's hockey team when they acquired NHL cable rights in 1987, remaining until his 1998 retirement. His recurring phrase "Keep your stick on the ice" became widely recognized across the country. Beyond the studio, Meeker launched summer hockey camps across Canada and the United States and published Howie Meeker's Hockey Basics in 1973. His CBC series Howie Meeker's Hockey School, produced in St. John's, Newfoundland, ran from 1973 to 1977 with 107 fifteen-minute episodes showing young players mastering skating, puck control, and passing. His underlying message was pointed squarely at coaches: he believed the game was being poorly taught at the junior level. He also publicly criticized the inadequate protective gear available to young players.

Between the Bench and the House of Commons

Meeker's post-playing ambitions stretched into both coaching and politics. In April 1956, he stepped in as Maple Leafs head coach, replacing King Clancy, and led the team to a 21–34–15 record before being elevated to general manager in 1957. His tenure in that front-office role ended abruptly when he was dismissed before the 1957–58 season even began. Simultaneously, Meeker made an unlikely foray into federal politics. While still an active Leaf, he won the Progressive Conservative seat for Waterloo South in a June 1951 by-election, serving two years as a Member of Parliament. He chose not to run again in the 1953 general election, returning his full attention to hockey. This dual identity—athlete, coach, and elected representative—was rare in the Canadian sports world of the early 1950s and underscored Meeker's restless drive to remain engaged in public life well beyond the ice.

A Living Link to Hockey's Golden Era

Meeker's extraordinary longevity made him a singular figure in Canadian sports memory. He was the final surviving member of the Maple Leafs' 1947, 1949, and 1951 Stanley Cup-winning rosters, as well as the last living participant in the inaugural NHL All-Star Game. His contributions were formally recognized with the Order of Canada, induction into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his broadcasting work. Yet his most sustained act of service lay in the Special Olympics. Invited by former NHL referee Harry "Red" Foster, Meeker helped launch Special Olympics Canada after the movement was founded in the United States by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In 1988, at age 64, he was asked by Campbell River Special Olympics to help organize a fundraising golf tournament. What began as a go-between role became the Howie Meeker Charity Golf Classic at Storey Creek Golf Club, which he attended in person for thirty consecutive years. In August 2018, at 94, he announced he would step back, welcoming NHL player Clayton Stoner as co-host to ensure the fundraiser endures.