William John Devine (February 22, 1919 – April 27, 1989) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and radio sports commentator.

[4] On August 20, 1960, Devine broadcast the Harmsworth Cup race for motorboats, won by the Canadian entry Miss Supertest III.

[9] He also urged local Belleville goaltender prodigy Steve Rexe to play for Canada men's national ice hockey team.

[15] He stated the present draft agreement with the NHL expires in 1972, and it sets the upper age limit on junior hockey at 20, whereas the WCHL wanted it to be 21.

[17] CAHA delegates initially disagreed over the amount of development money from the NHL, that was allocated to the leagues under Devine's tiered proposal.

[20][21] The WCHL requested to revisit his tiered draft configuration, and wanted an exemption from the restrictions on inter-provincial transfers, since its league operates in three provinces.

[19] Devine agreed and proposed the NHL draft payments for players at American colleges, be distributed to the last Canadian club for which the draftee played.

[24][25] He and the technical advisory committee of the CAHA shared the same stance against competitive hockey below age ten, and he spoke against parents that attempt to circumvent rules designed for balanced teams and fair play.

[28] During the 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Devine and Gordon Juckes were approached by Andrey Starovoytov of the Soviet Union, regarding having another Summit Series.

[32] The remainder of his first year as president was consumed by negotiating development and draft agreements for CAHA players, with the NHL and the WHA.

In May 1973, Devine met with the NHL to review details of the current agreement up for renewal on June 30, 1973, and prevent efforts by the WHA to deal independently with the WCHL.

Devine doubted that the NHL would begin drafting players below the age of 20, despite internally discussing whether to renew the existing agreement with the CAHA, in response to the signings supported by WHA president Gary Davidson.

[35] Devine cautioned that a bidding war between the NHL and the WHA for junior players, would be detrimental to the amateur hockey system in Canada.

[36] Devine and the CAHA met with Davidson and the WHA in Toronto on September 7, 1973, along with Canadian Minister of Health and Welfare Marc Lalonde, and Sport Canada director Lou Lefaive to discuss long-term solutions.

[47] It was a welcome development, as he had previously stated it was difficult for Canada to field a competitive international team due to professional leagues controlling too many players.

[47] In December that year, the CAHA proposed making its own international council independent of Hockey Canada, because Devine felt that one organization with its subcommittees was more streamlined.

[48] In August 1974, the report Investigation and Inquiry into Violence in Amateur Hockey was made public by René Brunelle, the Ontario Minister of Social and Family Services.

[51] In November 1974, Devine and the CAHA requested a follow-up meeting with the NHL, the WHA, and government officials to find long-term solutions to protect amateur hockey in Canada.

[55] After leaving the presidency of the CAHA, Devine was elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) governing council on July 24, 1975.

Devine said there were some issues to resolve before Canada decided to return to international play, such as the time of year which usually coincided with professional ice hockey playoffs.