|
View: Previous | Next
|
| 1975 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Greg Neeld
Selected in fourth round
No.
71 overall by Buffalo Sabres
Born February 25, 1955
 | Position: Right Wing
/ Defense
Height: 6-0 Weight: 192
|
|
| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Calgary (WCHL)
Birthplace: Vancouver, B.C. (Canada)
Hometown:
Vancouver, British Columbia |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1971-72 |
Markham | Jr. B | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | -- | | |
Toronto | OMJHL | 3 |
0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | | 1972-73 |
Toronto | OMJHL | 28 |
5 | 19 |
24 | 71 | | |
Sudbury | OMJHL | 26 |
4 | 18 |
22 | 70 | | 1973-74 |
Toronto | OMJHL | 31 |
4 | 11 |
15 | 98 | | 1974-75 |
Calgary | WCHL |
62 | 29 |
30 | 59 |
186 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Missed part of 1972-73 season with injuries suffered in
automobile accident. ... Missed part of 1973-74 season with injury that
resulted in the loss of his left eye. The incident took place while Neeld was
playing for Toronto (OMJHL) vs. Kitchener, and Dave Maloney's stick caught him
in the eye. Neeld returned to the OMJHL the following season with a special face guard and
helmet. |
| NHL CAREER |
| Never played in NHL. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Buffalo (NAHL); Toronto (WHA);
Erie (NAHL); Grand Rapids (IHL); Whitby (OHA Sr.); Kalamazoo, Toledo, Muskegon
(IHL)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
WHA Draft Pick: 1975 (by Minnesota, No. 40 overall in Round 3)
1977-78: Played on IHL regular-season champion (Grand Rapids).
1978-79: Played seven regular-season games for Kalamazoo team that won
IHL playoff title, but was not with team during postseason.
Miscellaneous: Went into business after his retirement, marketing his
Neeld Shield protective mask and working in the consumer electronics and food
and beverage industries. ... Became president and CEO of Hawkeye Gold
International in the late 1990s. The company, based in Vancouver, mines
precious metals throughout the world.
Personal: Older brother of former major-junior players Rob Neeld and John
Neeld.
Neeld vs. the NHL: The NHL's board of governors
refused to let Neeld play in the league because he had lost the sight in his
left eye. Although Neeld was capable of playing with a specially designed
helmet, called the Neeld Shield, the NHL refused to let a one-eyed player in
the league. If Neeld were to injure his good eye, the NHL did not want to be
responsible for the complete blinding of a player. Neeld appealed the rule,
but the NHL governors voted 13-3 (with two abstentions) to continue to bar
one-eyed players from the league. The league felt that it could not afford to
insure Neeld and that his special helmet could cause injury to other players.
Neeld ended up playing in the WHA, which did not bar one-eyed players. Years later, when
a similar injury struck Bryan Berard, the NHL changed its policy and allowed
Berard to resume play, although Berard had been fitted with a special contact
lens that gave him more sight than Neeld ever had. |
|
|
Visit the new
Hockey Draft Central |
HockeyDraftCentral.com is in the middle of rebuilding. You are looking at a page
that is not yet updated but is still part of the old site. Check out the new look.
• New Home Page
|
|
SNAPSHOT '75 | | Total Selected: |
217 | | Forwards: |
126 | | Defense: |
65 | | Goaltenders: |
26 | | Major Junior: |
135 | | College Players: |
61 |
| Canadian: |
162 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
46 | | U.S.-Born: |
45 |
| European: |
6 |
| Reached NHL: |
87 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
8 | | Hall of Fame: |
0 |
| All-Star Game: |
6 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
3 |
| Olympians: |
11 |
| Picks Traded: |
21 |
|
|
