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Born on April 25, 1918 in Blackie, Alberta, Pat Egan would have a decent playing and coaching career through various levels of hockey.
His hockey journey would begin with the Calgary Radios in 1935-36, where he had three points. In 1936-37, he played 14 games with the Nelson Maple Leafs, followed by 11 games in 1937-38 with the Sudbury Frood Tigers.
Egan would begin his professional career with the Seattle Seahawks of the Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1938. In 44 games with the team, he would record 185 penalty minutes. During the next season, he would play in Springfield before being called up to the New York Americans, playing ten games that season. During those 10 games, he would record seven points.
He would play two seasons with the Americans until leaving to serve in the military from 1942 to 1943. As part of the Montreal Army team, he would record 14 points in 19 games.
Upon his return, the Americans franchise had folded and his rights were transferred to the Detroit Red Wings.
After half a season with the Red Wings in which he had 19 points in 23 games, he was traded to the Boston Bruins for Flash Hollett. For the next six seasons, he would anchor the defence of the team. Over the course of his time with the Bruins, he would never record lower than 18 points, and his best season would come in 1946-47, when he had 25 points in 60 games. In 1949, he was traded to the New York Rangers, where he played for two seasons, recording 16 and 15 points in 70 games.
By 1951, he was beginning to slow down and was sent down to the minor leagues, never to return to the NHL. Over the course of his NHL career, he would have 77 goals and 153 assists for 230 points in 554 games. He would be named the NHL Second Team All-Star in 1942, and play in the NHL All-Star Game in 1949. Interestingly enough, there are some who claim that Egan was the inventor of the modern slap shot, but there isn’t too much to back this up.
Egan was well-known for his strength in the NHL and spent plenty of time in the penalty box. During his career, he would earn the nickname of Boxcar for his strong frame, and record 776 penalty minutes
For nine years, he would play for the Providence Reds of the AHL until 1959 when he played briefly for the Victoria Cougars of the WHL.
Over the course of his AHL career, he would have 140 points in 270 games. His best year, AHL or NHL, would be in 1957-58, when he had 36 points in 59 games.
Following his playing career, he would begin coaching. He had served as a player-coach for the Reds in 1954 and 1955, but he would be hired by Eddie Shore to coach the Springfield Indians in 1959. He would coach the team to three straight first-place finishes and three straight Calder Cup championships, the only time this has ever been accomplished. After three seasons without making the playoffs, he would go on to coach the Jacksonville Rockets of the Eastern Hockey League in 1966. With the team suffering from injuries, he would play 19 games for the Rockets at the age of 47.
In 1969, he would go on to work in Operations for Northeastern University for 22 years until his retirement.
He would be elected to the Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame.
Egan would pass away on June 3, 2008.
Information for this comes come Boston Bruins Legends, HockeyDB, Wikipedia,
