Al Hill (ice hockey)

Alan Douglas Hill (born April 22, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers from 1977 to 1988. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1976 to 1989, was spent in the American Hockey League.

Career
On February 14, 1977, Hill made his NHL debut for the Philadelphia Flyers and scored two goals and three assists in a 6–4 victory against the St. Louis Blues. Hill set the NHL record for most points (five) in a debut, including scoring twice in the first period (0:36) and (11:33) against goaltender Yves Bélanger. He retired from hockey after the 1988–89 AHL season.

Hill moved into coaching, first as an assistant coach with the Hershey Bears for one season before moving on to the Binghamton Rangers for five seasons. Halfway through his third season as an assistant for Binghamton, he was promoted to the same role with the New York Rangers on January 17, 1993. Prior to the 1993–94 season he was named Binghamton’s head coach. The Rangers did not renew his contract following the 1994–95 season. Hill served as an associate coach with the IHL‘s Cincinnati Cyclones for the next two seasons. He resigned after one season as head coach of the UHL’s B.C. Icemen in order to return to the Flyers organization in 1998 as a pro scout, serving in that role until his retirement in 2023.