Hal Laycoe

Who was Hal Laycoe?

Harold Richardson Laycoe was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman.

Laycoe started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers. He would also play with the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. His playing career lasted from 1945 to 1956. While with the Bruins, his on-ice fight with Maurice Richard in 1955 led to the Richard Riot.

Laycoe coached the New Westminster Royals of the Western Hockey League in 1956–57 and remained with the franchise when it moved to Portland, Oregon for the 1960–1961 season and was renamed the Portland Buckaroos. The Buckaroos won the league championship Lester Patrick Cup its first year in existence. Laycoe coached the Buckaroos for nine seasons and won another league championship in 1964–1965. In 1969, Laycoe moved to the National Hockey League, coaching the Los Angeles Kings for part of one season and then moving on to the expansion Vancouver Canucks for two more seasons. He later coached the Dutch national team in the 1977 B Pool World Championships.

In 1984, he was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.