Howie Meeker Obituary: Howie Meeker, who played on four Stanley Cup title groups with the Toronto Maple Leafs and proceeded to turn into a Hockey Hall of Fame telecaster for his imaginative and vivid critique, generally with the gigantically famous “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcasts of the 1970s and 80s, passed on Sunday at a medical clinic in Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. He was 97.

Meeker was just 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds or thereabouts, yet he stood his ground against greater players.

In his analysis for the CBC network during recesses at N.H.L. “Hockey Night” games, Meeker was a pioneer in utilizing a telestrator to graph the activity on moment answer portions. He requested the experts to “stop it not too far off,” one of his brand name phrases, so he could draw lines or circles distinguishing players who were, or weren’t, playing the game the manner in which he figured they should. His investigation gave knowledge that had rarely been offered to watchers.

Furthermore, he did it with blaze and energy.

“No one saw more about energy and shazzam than Howie,” John Shannon, a previous leader maker for the Saturday night broadcasts, said in the book “Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons” (2012). “Howie found a specialty, made a brand.”