Bill Clement

William H. Clement (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who became an author, speaker, actor, entrepreneur, and hockey broadcaster.

For other uses, see Bill Clement (disambiguation).
Bill Clement
Born (1950-12-20) December 20, 1950
Buckingham, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
Atlanta Flames
Calgary Flames
NHL Draft 18th overall, 1970
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1970–1982

Clement played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was named an All-Star twice. He spent his first four years with the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom he won two Stanley Cup championships (1974, 1975). Clement later played for the Washington Capitals, whom he captained, and the Flames, both in Atlanta and Calgary.

Clement has broadcast five different Olympic Games and has worked for ESPN, NBC, ABC, Versus, Comcast SportsNet and TNT in the U.S., and CTV, CBC, Rogers Sportsnet and Sirius XM Radio in Canada.

His acting credits include work on the ABC daytime drama All My Children and more than 300 television ads for clients such as Chevrolet, Bud Light, and Deepwoods Off. He was also one of the in-game announcers on EA Sports' NHL video games from NHL 07 through NHL 14, as well as on 2K Sports' NHL 2K series in ESPN NHL Hockey and ESPN NHL 2K5.

Biography

Playing career

Before his career as a broadcaster, Clement was an amateur and NHL hockey player. Born in Buckingham, Quebec, he played hockey as a child in nearby Thurso with Guy Lafleur.[1] He played Junior Hockey with the Ottawa 67s of the O.H.A., in their first three seasons.

Originally selected 18th (second round) in the 1970 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers (the Flyers' first pick of the draft), Clement played four seasons with the Flyers (as well as in minor league teams at Quebec City and Richmond, VA), and was part of the Stanley Cup-winning Flyers teams of 1973–74 and 1974–75 as the 4th line Center. Before the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, he was traded to the Washington Capitals for their right to draft Mel Bridgman, as the first overall draft pick that year. After playing just 46 games with the Capitals (and serving as the team captain) in the 1975–76 season, he was then traded to the Atlanta Flames for Gerry Meehan, Jean Lemieux and a Round 1 pick in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. He would play with the Flames organization in both Atlanta and Calgary, until his retirement following the 1981–82 NHL season. He played in two NHL All-Star Games, in 1976 and 1978. In 719 regular season games, he scored 148 goals, earned 206 assists, and 383 penalty minutes. In 50 playoff games, he collected five goals and three assists.

Clement was known for a calm and consistent passing game, leading to the rhyme "Clement, Clement, Hands of Cement." Bud Light referenced the old taunt in one of their popular "Hockey Falls" commercials.

Post-playing career

After retiring from hockey, he worked for many years as a lead color commentator for ESPN's hockey coverage first with play-by-play man Mike Emrick from 1986–87 to 1987–88 and later Gary Thorne[2] during these ESPN-produced telecasts 1992–93 to 2003–04. The pair also called the Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN and every Stanley Cup win from 1993 through 2004,[3] except for 1995; Mike Emrick and John Davidson were the broadcast team for the clinching game of that Finals series (which was aired on Fox). Davidson, who joined them as a third man in the booth for big games, did so for two Stanley Cup wins from 2003 through 2004. He also picked up duties as the lead color commentator for the Frozen Four, again paired with the play-by-play man Gary Thorne starting in 2005 and former goalie Darren Pang.[4] From 1988–89 until 1991–92 he worked for SportsChannel America as lead color commentator on their national and regional Philadelphia Flyers telecasts.

He worked with Jim Lampley as a studio analyst for NBC during their coverage of both the men's and women's ice hockey tournaments at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He worked as the play-by-play announcer for table tennis, pentathlon events, and badminton tournaments for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics for NBC. He won province championships playing badminton in high school. He also worked as an analyst in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games for several years.

He provided color commentary for the EA Sports' NHL series for NHL 2000 and NHL 2001, with Jim Hughson; and for all next-generation versions from NHL 07 through NHL 14, with Gary Thorne, having previously voiced 2K Sports' NHL 2K series for ESPN NHL Hockey and ESPN NHL 2K5, when 2K Sports had the ESPN license.[5]

He is also the host of a Flyers-based radio talk show on WBCB 1490 AM in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The show includes current and former players and coaches, as well as players from the ECHL's Trenton Devils. He also continues to provide color commentary, as well as post-game show analysis, working several local Flyers broadcasts for NBC Sports Philadelphia and The Comcast Network since the 2007–08 season.[6]

From 1986–2004, he broadcast at least one game of every Stanley Cup Finals series (with ESPN from 1986–1988, SportsChannel America from 1989–1992, ESPN again from 1993–2004, and ABC from 2000–2004). After a lockout canceled the 2005 Finals, he worked the 2006 and 2007 Finals as the studio host for OLN and NBC. He continued his streak in 2008 as a color commentator for NHL Radio on Westwood One.

In January 2021, Clement announced his retirement from broadcasting at the age of 70.[7][8][9] A year later, he and Al Morganti were inducted to Hockey Hall of Fame together, with him getting the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster while Morganti was presented with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for his excellence in hockey journalism career.[10][11][2]

Personal life

After retirement from hockey, he married his current wife, Cissie, had two children, and resides in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania. His daughter Savanah graduated from The Hun School of Princeton in 2007, while his son Chase graduated from New Hope-Solebury High School in 2008 and now goes to Delaware Valley College where he plays soccer as their goalkeeper and was First Team All Freedom Conference Player in 2012. Clement became a U.S. citizen on November 4, 2010.[12]

ill Clement was first married to Cathie (née Maclarty) of Ottawa, Ontario. They have a daughter Christa, and grandchildren.

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967–68 Ottawa 67's OHA-Jr. 38 6 19 25 41 — — — — —
1968–69 Ottawa 67's OHA-Jr. 53 18 28 46 101 7 1 4 5 6
1969–70 Ottawa 67's OHA-Jr. 54 19 36 55 62 5 2 0 2 0
1970–71 Quebec Aces AHL 69 19 39 58 88 1 0 0 0 0
1971–72 Richmond Robins AHL 26 8 9 17 20 — — — — —
1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 49 9 14 23 39 — — — — —
1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 14 14 28 51 2 0 0 0 0
1973–74 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 39 9 8 17 34 4 1 0 1 4
1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 68 21 16 37 42 12 1 0 1 8
1975–76 Washington Capitals NHL 46 10 17 27 20 — — — — —
1975–76 Atlanta Flames NHL 31 13 14 27 29 2 0 1 1 0
1976–77 Atlanta Flames NHL 67 17 26 43 27 3 1 1 2 0
1977–78 Atlanta Flames NHL 70 20 30 50 34 2 0 0 0 2
1978–79 Atlanta Flames NHL 65 12 23 35 14 2 0 0 0 0
1979–80 Atlanta Flames NHL 64 7 14 21 32 4 0 0 0 4
1980–81 Calgary Flames NHL 78 12 20 32 33 16 2 1 3 6
1981–82 Calgary Flames NHL 69 4 12 16 28 3 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 719 148 208 356 383 50 5 3 8 26

References
  1. "Bill Clement becomes an American citizen".
  2. Baskin, Jake (2022-06-22). "On ESPN, Bill Clement's hockey was solid; 2022 Foster Hewitt Award winner; His voice filled the room". Sports Broadcast Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  3. Deitsch, Richard (10 March 2021). "Could Gary Thorne return as ESPN's NHL voice? 'I'd love to talk to them'". The Athletic.
  4. "ESPNU, ESPN2 AND ESPN COMBINE TO TELEVISE ENTIRE NCAA ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP - MARCH 25 TO APRIL 9". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  5. Lepore, Steve (2014-05-05). "Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and NBC Sports brand will be in EA's 'NHL 15'". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  6. "Bill Clement Joins Flyers Broadcast Team". Archived from the original on 2007-11-26. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  7. Carchidi, Sam (17 January 2021). "Flyers broadcaster Bill Clement, Renaissance man, steps down after birthday 'awakening'". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. Fish, Wayne (2021-01-17). "Former Flyer Bill Clement's career was one for the ages". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  9. Cobourn, Sean (2021-01-09). "Bill Clement retires from broadcasting". Flyers Nation. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  10. Hall, Jordan (June 15, 2022). "Humble and helpful, Morganti, Clement headed for Hockey Hall of Fame". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. Hall of Fame, Hockey (2023-09-08). "Morganti, Clement to be honored by Hockey Hall of Fame | NHL.com". www.nhl.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  12. Seravalli, Frank (2010-11-04). "Clement to become U.S. citizen during Flyers game tonight". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
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