Flyers Alum Mike Boland was a man of many interests and talents, well-liked and respected for his accomplishments both on and off the ice. The former NHL and WHA player passed away on October 5, 2025. He was 75 years old.
Boland, a University of Toronto graduate, played in two games for Fred Shero’s Flyers during the 1974-75 season. However, he was better known as a mainstay on the Flyers’ Richmond Robins (AHL) and Philadelphia Firebirds (NAHL) farm teams in the early-to-mid 1970s.
While a member of the Firebirds, Boland played right wing on a dynamic offensive line centered by Bob Collyard. In 1974-75, Collyard racked up 103 points (third in the league) while Boland had 86 points (9th). The same year, big rookie winger Willie Friesen notched 25 goals. Tom Young scored 30 goals.
Boland loved to travel across the world, both on and off the ice. He was one of the first North Americans to play pro hockey in Europe, spending the 1976-77 season in Finland with HIFK Helsinki. Later, he lived for a time in Australia. During his time Down Under, he also served as a player-coach for Demons IHC. The team won the Victorian League championship.
However, Boland soon discovered that hockey was not his true calling in life. He turned his former hobbies — photography and cinematography — in an illustrious professional career behind the camera lens.
Mike won several awards for his cinematography work, including an Emmy Award, a Gemini Award. Additionally, he was behind the camera for the 1987 hockey documentary, The Boys on the Bus.
As a director, Boland received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for a 2014 science documentary (“Gorilla Doctors). He was a published book author, penning “Through the Lens of My Eye: Adventures of a Documentary Cameraman” in 2012.