MONTREAL – David Dies, a hall of fame athlete who coached the McGill University men's hockey team in the early 1970s, has passed away. He was 79.
 
Originally from Beaconsfield, Que., he died on July 20 in Georgian Bay, Ont., after a two-year battle with cancer.
 
Employed as a teacher at Lindsay Place High School in Pte. Claire, Que., during the 1960s, Dies coached his alma mater, Sir George Williams University, to the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Athletic Association championship in 1968-69, a squad that went on to post a silver-medal finish at Nationals.
 
Dies replaced Brian Gilmour as bench boss at McGill in 1970 but stepped down in 1973 after a perceived conflict of interest because of his association with a hockey scouting agency, which signed players for pro teams. He was replaced behind the McGill bench by Herb Madill, the team captain who served as a player-coach that season.
 
After leaving McGill, Dies coached pro hockey in Japan for two seasons with the Nippon Paper Cranes.
 
"Dave was a brilliant hockey player; he was a solid, smart, superb skater and a good coach," recalled Madill when reached for a comment. "He convinced me to transfer to McGill after graduating from UNB. We also worked at numerous hockey schools together, in Montreal and Boston."
 
A 1964 graduate of SGWU, Dies (BSc '64, BA '67) was inducted to the Concordia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. During his collegiate playing days, he was a teammate of Bob Berry, who went on to play and coach in the NHL, including a stint as bench boss of the Montreal Canadiens.
 
A 5-foot-10, 190-pound all-star centre with the SGWU Georgians, Dies became the team's all-time leading goal scorer, netting 99 goals and 189 points.  A two-time team MVP, he served as captain and was named as SGWU's athlete of the year in his senior season after becoming the institution's first All-Canadian hockey player. He played on two OSLAA championship teams, 1961-62 and 1963-64. Dies led the latter to a silver-medal finish at the CIAU national championship, where he was named as the tournament's most outstanding player.
 
He is survived by his wife Lynda (nee Moore), daughters Lori (Brown) and Debbie (Kierstead) and a son (David), in addition to five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family has suggested donations to the Georgian Triangle Humane Society in his honour or to the Canadian Cancer Society.

A celebration of life is planned for Sept. 11, 2022 at the Wasaga Sports Park.  Please email ddies.col.2022@gmail.com for more details if you would like to attend.
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Info Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 398-7012