Bill Bowler

Hockey player, hockey coach, manager

The all time leading goal scorer of the Windsor Spitfires, Bill Bowler has excelled in the hockey world as both a player and coach. Mr Bowler holds the Spitfire records for most career goals, most career assists, most career points, and sits seventh in number of games played for the Spits.

Fans that followed the team in the 1990’s will have fond memories of Bill Bowler’s scoring prowess. Despite just being over 5 feet tall, Bill put together 3 straight 100 point seasons for the Spitfires. This is especially notable in that only one other Spitfire even managed to crack the 300 point barrier for their career as a Spitfire (Ryan Ellis.)

Bill joined Windsor in 1991, and played for the team through 1995. He would go on to have a successful professional career, though would not reach the same success in the NHL as he did in the OHL. Mr. Bowler would play for the Las Vegas Thunder, Houston Aeros, and Manitoba Moose in the IHL. He would also play with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Milwaukee/Norfolk Admirals of the AHL. His career highlight professionally came during the 2000-01 season, where he suited up for 9 career NHL games while recording 2 points with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He finished his career in Germany, playing for the Krefeld Penguins of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Bill’s number 9 was retired by the Windsor Spitfires on December 10th 2011, an honour he shared with Spitfire and New York Rangers great Adam Graves.

After retiring from his playing days, Mr. Bowler quickly found a new home in hockey with the Windsor Spitfires. After being the General Manager and Head Coach of the Chatham Maroons for 2 seasons, he became the General Manager and Head Coach of the Spitfires junior B affiliate – the LaSalle Vipers.

In August 2015, he was named the Vice-President of Hockey Operations for the Spitfires while remaining in his role with the Vipers.

Sources:

Bill Bowler Wikipedia Page

Bill Bowler HockeyDB page

The Windsor Star (2015.) Bob Duff: Former Spitfire Bill Bowler named to club’s front office.

The Windsor Star (2015.) Former Spitfire Bill Bowler builds championship contender in LaSalle.

http://windsorstar.com/sports/hockey/ex-spit-bill-bowler-builds-championship-contender-in-lasalle