Bill "Red" Hay, who led Colorado College to the 1957 NCAA hockey championship and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, passed away last weekend at the age of 88.
 
Hay was an All-American in each of his two seasons at Colorado College and is 31^st on the school's career scoring list with 154 points (60 goals, 94 assists). He scored 73 during his first season in 1956-57, when the Tigers won their second national title.
 
"On behalf of the CC hockey program, we are saddened to hear about the passing of Red Hay," Tiger head coach Kris Mayotte said. "I want to pass on our condolences to his family and loved ones. We are all grateful for the influence Red had in the hockey world, specifically setting a path from college hockey to the NHL. Red's leadership has allowed so many past, current, and future Tigers to chase their dreams of playing in the NHL while receiving a world class education."
 
Hay became the first collegian to play in the NHL, playing eight seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1959-67, winning the Calder Trophy in 1959-60 as the NHL's top rookie and helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 1961.
 
He had NHL career highs of 52 assists and 63 points in 1961-62, scoring a career-best 23 goals in 1963-64. He had 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 1965-66 but decided to retire after that season to enter the family oil business.
 
The Blackhawks convinced him to return at midseason in 1966-67. He had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 36 games, helping Chicago to a first-place finish but when he was made available in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft and claimed by the St. Louis Blues, Hay retired again, this time for good.
 
Hay would enjoy great success in the family oil business, but hockey being his family's lifeblood, he returned to the game, tapped as president and chief executive officer of the Calgary Flames, part of the team's ownership group.
 
Like his father, Charles, he was later to serve as president and chief operating officer of Hockey Canada. Hay also became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee in 1980, was made a member of the board of directors in 1995, and served as chairman and CEO from 1998 until his retirement on Aug. 2, 2013.
 
Under his leadership, the Hall of Fame had two major expansion projects and strengthened its relations with the NHL, the NHL Players' Association, Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
 
For his extraordinary body of work, Hay was honored in 2021 with the prestigious Order of Hockey in Canada. It followed his Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinement, and many other distinctions, including the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame, 2017; Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, 2015; Saskatchewan Oil Patch Hall of Fame, 1999; Colorado College Athletics Hall of Fame, 1995; and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, 1992.