Bonello, former NHL Central Scouting Director, dies at 91

Frank Bonello, the NHL's Director of Central Scouting from 1988-2005, died Wednesday at the age of 91.

Bonello joined the NHL in July 1988 after a 17-year career as general manager and coach of the Toronto Marlboros junior club. They won Memorial Cup championships under Bonello's leadership in 1973 and 1975. Bonello replaced Jim Gregory, who left the position in 1987.

"The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Frank Bonello, a dedicated steward of the game who served as Director of Central Scouting from 1988-2005, expanding the department's scope exponentially during a significant period of domestic and international growth for the League," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

"An understated gentleman who loved being in the rink, he devoted his professional life to building his junior teams, increasing the service provided by Central Scouting, and empowering those he led. We send our deepest condolences to the Bonello family and the many friends and colleagues that Frank touched during his life in hockey."

Frank Bonello of the Whitby Dunlops, later coach of Toronto Marlboros and NHL scout, shoots on the Soviet goalie as other players look on in game action between the Whitby Dunlops and the Moscow Selects on Nov. 22, 1957 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Current NHL Central Scouting vice president and director Dan Marr praised Bonello for giving him an opportunity.

"Frank gave me my first job in hockey as a trainer with the Toronto Marlboros in 1980," Marr said. "There were two sides to Frank. There was the business side to which he was a very astute businessman. He would have thrived as a general manager in the salary cap age ... that would have been right up his alley. I always would try and take things from different people that you work for, different leaders, and from Frank it was just the organizational skills that he demanded from everybody as part of doing their job.

"Then there was Frank, the family man. Hockey players would be amazed to meet Frank, the family man, because of the way he just cherished those moments being around his wife and daughter and doing the family things."

Frank Bonello (left) of the Whitby Dunlops in exhibition-game action against the Moscow Selects on Nov. 22, 1957 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

At the time he came to the NHL, Bonello was also being wooed by the Toronto Maple Leafs to become their general manager.

"I have been thinking about getting into hockey on a full-time basis for some time now," Bonello said when he was hired. "This job is in an area that has been close to me so I don't expect it will be a big adjustment."

During his time at Central Scouting, some of the greatest players in the history of the NHL were selected No. 1 in the NHL Draft, including Mats Sundin (1989), Joe Thornton (1997), Marc-Andre Fleury (2003), Alex Ovechkin (2004) and Sidney Crosby (2005).

David Gregory, director of NHL Central Scouting and son of late Jim Gregory, who preceded Bonello as the director of NHL Central Scouting remembers Bonello as a man who loved the game of hockey.

"He was involved at every level you can imagine from playing and then coaching and managing as well as running Central Scouting to a point where you would never miss a player," David Gregory said. "But Frank knew just about every part of hockey, so he was so thorough and just made sure we never missed anything when it related to Central Scouting and was a very strong leader of the group."

Frank Bonello of the Whitby Dunlops, later coach of Toronto Marlboros and NHL scout, shoots on the Soviet goalie as other players look on in game action between the Whitby Dunlops and the Moscow Selects on Nov. 22, 1957 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Gregory fondly recalled the two or three road trips he took with Bonello while working for Central Scouting.

"When you went on a trip with Frank, you were always the driver," Gregory said. "I really appreciated that because you got to listen to stories from him about his experience in the game and having known him on a personal level, and what a great family man he was, we had a different relationship in that we could relate to times when I was a young boy watching him when he was with the Marlboros.

"But I always knew that I was going to be behind the wheel and Frank was telling us where to go and I was perfectly happy with that. He even knew which lane you should be in while you were driving from one rink to another to get there quickly. 'Frank GPS' was pretty accurate almost every time."

On Aug. 30, 2005, Bonello assumed the role of Consultant to NHL Hockey Operations Department and E.J. McGuire was named Director of Central Scouting.

"The expansion and importance of NHL Central Scouting has grown exponentially under Frank's leadership," Colin Campbell, NHL executive vice president and director of hockey operations said in August 2005. "We thank him for his dedicated service to the League and I look forward to having him continue to serve the League's Hockey Operations Department on a day-to-day basis. At the same time, we are pleased to be able to have an individual with E.J.'s experience head up Central Scouting."

Frank Bonello (left) and Charlie Burns of the Whitby Dunlops at Upper Canada College in Toronto on Jan. 15, 1958 as the team prepares for the 1958 World Championship in Oslo, Norway.

Gregory said Bonello and his father, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2007, had a special relationship.

"When my dad moved on from running Central Scouting to NHL Hockey Operations, Frank was the first guy he thought of to take over the role as Central's director because he knew how much Frank loved the game and how he would carry the torch to a point that everything would be done right," Gregory said. "Like my dad, Frank wanted to make sure that the job was done right and the teams got what they needed, especially as it related to Central Scouting."

Top photo: Frank Bonello with the 1957-58 Whitby Dunlops.