Bill Stewart (1957)

Bill Stewart (1957)
Position	Defenceman
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
Teams	Buffalo Sabres St. Louis Blues Toronto Maple Leafs Minnesota North Stars
Nationality	Canadian
Born	October 6 1957 (1957-10-06) (age 62), Toronto, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	68th overall, 1977 Buffalo Sabres
WHA Draft	46th overall, 1977 Winnipeg Jets
Pro Career	1977 – 1995

Bill Donald Stewart (born October 6, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian defenceman.

Stewart started his National Hockey League career with the Buffalo Sabres in 1977. He also played for the St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Minnesota North Stars. He left the NHL after the 1986 season, and played in Europe. He retired as a player in 1995.

In 1998–1999 Stewart was the head coach of the New York Islanders. He then moved on for one tumultuous season as the head coach of the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. The roster that year included Ryan Barnes, who was charged with assault with a weapon after a stick-swinging incident during a game in October. Later in the season, 3 of the team's other players (Nick Robinson, Mike D'Alessandro and Aaron Power) were charged with sexual assault. Finally, Stewart himself made headlines and was banned from entering the United States for twice smuggling a Ukrainian-born player over the Canada–United States border in the baggage compartment of the team bus. After that, Stewart moved on to coach in Germany.

External linksEdit

• Stewart's profile on the Buffalo Sabres alumni site
• Bill Stewart's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ukrainian Weekly article on the player smuggling incidents
• CBC Sports article mentioning the team scandals
• CBC article on the player smuggling icidents
• CHL article on the Barrie Colts run for the Memorial Cup and the team controversies
• CHL article on the end of the Barrie Colts season, numerous suspensions, and controversies