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Wayne Connelly
View on Wikipedia | This biography of a living person includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (September 2023) |
Wayne Francis Connelly (born December 16, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks and finished his career in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Connelly was born in Rouyn, Quebec, and grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
Key Information
Playing career
[edit]
Connelly played a total of 543 games in the NHL with 133 goals and 174 assists for a total of 307 points. In addition, he played 366 games in the WHA for the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Cleveland Crusaders, Calgary Cowboys, and Edmonton Oilers with 167 goals and 162 assists for 329 points.
Connelly won the Red Tilson Award in 1959–60 as the Ontario Hockey League's most outstanding player while with the Peterborough Petes. Connelly scored 235 points in 4 seasons with the Petes (1956–1960). On November 29, 1961, Connelly scored his first NHL goal in Boston's 7-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It occurred at Chicago Stadium.
On October 19, 1966, Bobby Orr recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on a powerplay goal by Connelly in Boston's 6–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. In the NHL's first year of expansion, 1967–68, Connelly led the Minnesota North Stars with 35 goals and 21 assists and received the Hockey News West Player of the Year award. On April 9, 1968, Connelly became the first player to score a goal on a penalty shot in the NHL playoffs when he beat Los Angeles's Terry Sawchuk in a 7–5 victory for his Minnesota North Stars.
He joined the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972. He played with the team for four seasons and in 291 games, he scored 144 goals and recorded 283 total points, which were both franchise records. He was traded to the Cleveland Crusaders in the middle of the 1975-76 season before he played sparingly for both the Calgary Cowboys and Edmonton Oilers in the 1976-77 season, after which he retired. In 909 total professional games, he recorded 300 goals with 636 points. He played in 36 WHA playoff games and recorded 16 goals with 15 assists while playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs for 24 games with 11 goals and 7 assists.
Personal life
[edit]Connelly and his wife Reg have two children, Ann and Stephen. He lives on Lake Kenogami located near Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario.
Statistics
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1955–56 | Kitchener Canucks | OHA | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | Peterborough Petes | OHA | 52 | 19 | 7 | 26 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Peterborough Petes | OHA | 52 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1958–59 | Peterborough Petes | OHA | 54 | 36 | 54 | 90 | 46 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 38 | ||
| 1958–59 | Peterborough Petes | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 9 | ||
| 1959–60 | Peterborough Petes | OHA | 47 | 48 | 34 | 82 | 47 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 1959–60 | Montreal Royals | EPHL | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 1960–61 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Montreal Royals | EPHL | 64 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 61 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 34 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 33 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1964–65 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 70 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 72 | 45 | 41 | 86 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1966–67 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 64 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 35 | 21 | 56 | 40 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1968–69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 55 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1970–71 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 51 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 28 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 53 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 78 | 40 | 30 | 70 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1973–74 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 78 | 42 | 53 | 95 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 | ||
| 1974–75 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 76 | 38 | 33 | 71 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 10 | ||
| 1975–76 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 59 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Calgary Cowboys | WHA | 25 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 38 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| WHA totals | 366 | 167 | 162 | 329 | 93 | 36 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 16 | ||||
| NHL totals | 543 | 133 | 174 | 307 | 156 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 4 | ||||
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database