John Brophy (ice hockey)

John Brophy (Born: Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a former head coach in the NHL, CHL, AHL, and ECHL and is a former hockey player in the EHL. As a rough nosed player spanning 22 years in the EHL, he moved on to coaching in 1968 as player coach of the Long Island Ducks of the EHL and one season with the Birmingham Bulls of the CHL, with whom he won the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy as best CHL head coach. He was offered a job as assistant coach by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1984 and then promoted to head coach from from 1986 to 1988 after a brief stint in the AHL. Not being able to bring the Toronto Maple Leafs a long awaited Stanley Cup, he found a home in the ECHL where he won three Championships with the Hampton Roads Admirals. He then rounded out his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.