He played for St. Lawrence University from 1958 to 1961. He then played for five years in the minor pros until retiring in 1965. In 1967-68 he became the coach of the Toledo Blades of the International Hockey League. He stayed there for two years and then coached the Des Moines Oak Leafs for another two years. Slater became the coach of the newly-formed Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. He stayed there for two years and in 1975-76 moved to the Cincinnati Stingers for two years. In his four years in the WHA his teams had a record of 116-130-12.