Death of Jim Wiley mourned by hockey community

Jim Wiley Jr. may be grieving the loss of his father, but he says dealing with it is a little easier after receiving countless messages from the hockey community, expressing condolences and speaking to what type of person he was. 

Jim Wiley, a former hockey player and coach who began his decades-long career in his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, died surrounded by family Dec. 26 following a battle with cancer. 

Wiley was 71 years old. 

“He was special,” said Wiley Jr., speaking to SooToday from his home in Fort Smith, Arkansas Tuesday. “As a son, we all think that our dads hung the moon, right? They’re bigger than anything.

“But the last few days, it’s taught me that he was bigger than I thought that he was - and I didn’t think that was possible.”

Wiley played for the Soo Greyhounds in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League for a two-year period in the 1960s before capturing a national championship with the Lake Superior State University Lakers in the early 1970s. 

A seven-year professional run with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks made Wiley the first-ever Laker to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). 

He was inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Hockey Hall of Fame in the player category in 2017. 

After winding down his playing career, Wiley would go on to coach in a number of hockey leagues for nearly two decades, including the American Hockey League, ECHL and the NHL as a coach for the San Jose Sharks during the 1995-1996 season. 

“The passing of Jim Wiley is a sad day for not only the ECHL, but the entire hockey world. He impacted so many people in this sport through decades of coaching and dedication through a number of hockey leagues both on and off the ice,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin, in a statement to SooToday Tuesday. “For the ECHL, Jim most recently served the PHPA [Professional Hockey Players’ Association] and its players for the past several years, and also had many strong relationships with ECHL team management from the time he spent in the Central Hockey League, all who recount his character as unblemished.   

“I had the honour of speaking with him last week just before the Christmas holiday, and his demeanor was strong and playful as always, and for this, we will all miss him dearly.”

Wiley’s son says it’s been overwhelming to listen to all the stories from people in the hockey community who knew his father, from NHL players and coaches to referees, to people who worked at hockey arenas. 

“Dad had a special way of involving everybody into his life, and if you drove a Zamboni or you were an electrician, or you were a police officer or whatever you were at the rink, you were part of the team,” said Wiley Jr. “I have been told by numerous people that he treated everybody the exact same, and people respected that.”

In later years, Wiley and his wife, Chris, relocated to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was able to enjoy watching his two grandsons play baseball. 

His son says hockey isn’t a high-profile sport in Arkansas, and doubts that anyone has the NHL package on cable television. 

“Here’s kind of a sanctuary for them, and they’re just one of the citizens of the community and people treat them really nice here. They’ve learned to call it home, because that’s where my boys are,” Wiley Jr. said. 

Wiley had been working as a field consultant for the Professional Hockey Players’ Association - a union representing roughly 1,600 players in the ECHL and AHL - for a period of roughly six years leading up to his death. 

“Well, I think the whole hockey community is devastated. There’s only so few Jim Wileys you’d meet in your life, let alone in the sport, which is such a close-knit family,” said Larry Landon, executive director of the PHPA. “I think we’re all grieving for this.

“Fortunately, we got to speak to Jim every week - our staff, myself - just touch base with him to see how he’s doing, and even as recently as last Thursday, his spirits were good,” he continued. “The latest treatment of chemo seemed to really hit him hard, and he was feeling the effects of it, but I was certainly devastated when I got the phone call from Jim Jr. that his dad had passed.”

Landon recalls recruiting Wiley after the Central Hockey League (CHL) folded in 2014. Wily served as director of hockey operations for the CHL for approximately six years. 

“He had the best interests of the players in his mind and heart, and when the CHL dispersed, I told Jim, ‘Jim, there’s a job with us. I’m going to let you work from home, and I’d love you to join us, but I’m going to need a few months for this to pass because you work for a league, and I’m asking you to jump on the other side and work for the union,’” said Landon. “He was excited, because he was always a player's guy.”

The PHPA has introduced the T. Jim Wiley ECHL Player Representative of the Year Award as a way of honouring Wiley’s contributions to the union. 

Landon says the PHPA is currently working to create a way for people to donate to its ECHL players hardship fund - intended to help players and their families - at the request of Wiley’s family. 

“That just summarizes what Jim’s all about - when his family tells us that, it brought tears to my eyes, but I know that’s who Jim was - he was always a player’s guy, whether he was a coach, a GM or a player, he was always a player’s guy.” said Landon. “Sault Ste. Marie should be proud of what they brought into the hockey world.

“They gave us a good one for a lot of years.”