Youngest player to skate in NHL

Armand “Bep” Guidolin, 82, who was the youngest player to skate in a National Hockey League game, died Monday in a Barrie, Canada, hospital. The cause of death was not announced.

A native of Thorold, Ontario, Guidolin was 16 years and 11 months old when he made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins on Nov. 12, 1942. The Bruins needed help because of the number of players serving in the military during World War II.

Guidolin, a left-shooting left-winger, went on to play nine seasons in the NHL, recording 107 goals and 171 assists in 519 games with Boston, Detroit and Chicago.

After his playing career ended in 1961, Guidolin turned to coaching and was behind the Oshawa Generals’ bench when future NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Orr starred for the junior club.

He then had NHL coaching stops in Boston, where he coached Orr again, and Kansas City.

Guidolin also was the coach and general manager of the Edmonton Oilers in the 1970s when they were still in the World Hockey Assn.