Leonard Stanley Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was an American ice hockey player and coach.
[1][2] He was an All-American left wing on Boston College's 1949 NCAA championship team, and was captain of the 1950–51 squad.
[5] In 1962, Clarkson beat Michigan 5–4 to make hockey history by becoming the first Eastern team to defeat a Western squad in the first round of the Final Four since 1954.
[5] At the end of the season, he was awarded his first Spencer Penrose Trophy, which goes annually to the national coach of the year.
After skating past Michigan Tech, 4–3, in the semifinals, Clarkson fell just short against the Cornell Big Red, suffering a 6–4 loss in Lake Placid.
The vacancy left by Ceglarski would be filled by Jerry York, who would also go on to coach at his alma mater, Boston College.
When Ceglarski concluded his 34-year hockey coaching career in 1992, he retired with the most victories ever amassed in the history of the game at the college level.
Serving for 14 years as the head coach of the Clarkson Golden Knights, Ceglarski compiled a .717 winning percentage, posting a 254–97–10 overall record from 1958–1972.
[5] Ceglarski's 1977–78 BC squad also finished as NCAA runner-up, losing to Boston University in the finals.
In 1990, he won the Lester Patrick Trophy, an annual award presented for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
Sponsored by CCM, the award is given in the name of Bob Kullen, who served as head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats.
[7] Each school nominates one player and the award is then voted upon by head coaches, sports information directors, and league officials.