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| Al Sims | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1953-04-18)April 18, 1953 (age 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Hartford Whalers Los Angeles Kings | ||
| NHL draft | 47th overall,1973 Boston Bruins | ||
| WHA draft | 16th overall,1973 New York Golden Blades | ||
| Playing career | 1973–1989 | ||
Allan Eugene Sims (born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian former professional hockey player andhead coach in theNational Hockey League (NHL). He played ten seasons in the NHL between 1973 and 1983 with theBoston Bruins,Hartford Whalers,Los Angeles Kings. He featured in threeStanley Cup Finals with the Bruins (1974, 1977, 1978).
After retiring he turned to coaching, and remained in this role from 1988 to 2016 in various minor leagues. Sims also served as the head coach of theSan Jose Sharks in the NHL during the1996-97 season.
In 1972, Sims was the second-round (and first-ever) draft pick of theNew York Raiders of theWorld Hockey Association, but chose to sign with theBoston Bruins who had drafted him in the third round. AtCornwall, Ontario, in Junior Hockey he had played withBob Murray, a rushing defenceman. When he played for Boston he was paired for two years with the greatest rushing defenceman of all time,Bobby Orr. He played for Boston and itsAmerican Hockey League affiliate for six seasons, and then for theHartford Whalers for the next two.
After Sims' retirement from the NHL, he played and coached hockey withFife Flyers in Scotland. Later he coached in the International League and won theTurner Cup with theFort Wayne Komets in 1993. Sims was named assistant coach underRon Wilson with theMighty Ducks of Anaheim 1993-1996[1] before he became head coach of theSan Jose Sharks for the1996–97 NHL season.
Sims then became head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of theIHL for three years, from 1998 to 2000, moved on to the Central Hockey League for four years and to theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as an assistant coach for a year. In 2007–2008, Sims coached theFort Wayne Komets of the newIHL to his second Turner Cup championship, beating the Port Huron Icehawks 4 games to 3 after a triple-OT seventh and deciding game. After that, he led them to another Turner Cup in the 2008–09 season. In the following year (2009–10), Sims led the Komets to their third straight (and his personal fourth straight, counting the 1992–93 season) Turner Cup. With the team returning to theCHL after the IHL dissolved, it was eliminated in the second round of the 2010-11 postseason before winning the league in 2011–12. However, the Komets failed to make the postseason in 2012–13, with the team in theECHL, his final season as their head coach. Sims' final minor league head coaching job came with theEvansville IceMen of the ECHL; he took over during the 2014–15 season and coached them in 2015–16, failing to make the postseason either year. The team was declared dormant in 2016–17 in preparation for moving elsewhere, which turned out to beJacksonville, Florida in 2017–18, and a new head coach took over.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 58 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 65 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 15 | ||
| 1971–72 | Cornwall Royals | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 62 | 13 | 62 | 75 | 54 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 76 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 75 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 21 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 1976–77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 80 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 42 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 43 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 31 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 76 | 10 | 31 | 41 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 80 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 51 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 76 | 18 | 50 | 68 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1984–85 | Genève–Servette HC | SUI–2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | EV Landshut | GER | 16 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1984–85 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | BSC Preussen | GER–2 | 45 | 27 | 47 | 74 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Fife Flyers | GBR | 36 | 52 | 86 | 138 | 95 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Fife Flyers | GBR | 30 | 33 | 42 | 75 | 51 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 61 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 475 | 49 | 116 | 165 | 286 | 41 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | ||||
| AHL totals | 275 | 45 | 134 | 179 | 171 | 31 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 33 | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| SJ | 1996-97 | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 62 | 7th in Pacific | Missed Playoffs |
Sims' son Tyler was the starting goaltender of theProvidence College Friars inHockey East (2004 to 2008), and a reserve goalie for several minor league teams (2007 to 2011).
| Preceded by | Head coach of the San Jose Sharks 1996-97 | Succeeded by |