Wayne Stephenson

Wayne Stephenson
Born (1945-01-29)January 29, 1945
Fort William, Ontario, Canada
Died June 22, 2010(2010-06-22) (aged 65)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
National team  Canada
Playing career 1965–1981
Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Grenoble Ice hockey

Wayne Frederick Stephenson (January 29, 1945 – June 22, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Fort William, Ontario.

Biography

Stephenson played primarily with the Canadian National Team early in his career, and was a member of the 1968 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team that won the Bronze Medal.

Stephenson graduated from the University of Winnipeg with an economics degree and worked as an accountant. After he retired from professional hockey, he worked in the banking industry.

His NHL career would begin in 1971 when he was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Blues. After three seasons with the Blues, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in September 1974.[1] While in Philadelphia, Wayne toiled as a backup to Bernie Parent for the 1974-1975 season. When Parent suffered a pinched nerve in his neck during the 1975-1976 pre season that required surgery, Stephenson became the Flyers starting goaltender and retained the job when Parent returned late in the season but couldn't regain his previous All Star form. During that year, Stephenson allowed one goal in the Flyers' win over the Soviet Red Army hockey team, a victory Stephenson referred to as the highlight of his career. Stephenson sought a salary increase to reflect his new responsibilities and value to the team in 1976 but management held firm and he returned to the Philadelphia lineup after a two-month holdout. The friction generated by the dispute fueled his exit from Philadelphia. Stephenson was traded to the Washington Capitals prior to the 1979–80 NHL season and played there for two seasons before retiring.

After retiring from the NHL, Stephenson worked with the hockey teams at Barnstable High School in Massachusetts.[2] He died on June 22, 2010 in Madison, Wisconsin at the age of 65.[3]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1963–64 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 29 11 15 3 1804 120 0 3.99 — — — — — — — — —
1964–65 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 43 26 12 5 2580 128 2 2.98 — 4 4 0 240 12 0 3.00 —
1964–65 Edmonton Oil Kings M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 5 1 4 300 25 0 5.00 —
1965–66 Canada Intl — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1966–67 Canada Intl — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1967–68 Winnipeg Nationals WCSHL 15 — — — 900 30 1 2.00 — — — — — — — — —
1968–69 Canada Intl — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1969–70 Canada Intl — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1970–71 Canada Intl — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1971–72 St. Louis Blues NHL 2 0 1 0 100 9 0 5.40 .804 — — — — — — — —
1971–72 Kansas City Blues CHL 21 5 11 4 1210 80 0 3.97 — — — — — — — — —
1972–73 St. Louis Blues NHL 45 18 15 7 2535 128 1 3.03 .898 3 1 2 160 14 0 5.25 .860
1973–74 St. Louis Blues NHL 40 13 21 5 2360 123 2 3.13 .898 — — — — — — — —
1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 12 7 2 1 639 29 1 2.72 .895 2 2 0 123 4 1 1.95 .922
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 66 40 10 13 3819 164 1 2.58 .908 8 4 4 494 22 0 2.67 .904
1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 21 12 3 2 1065 41 1 2.31 .913 9 4 3 532 23 1 2.59 .903
1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 26 14 10 1 1482 68 3 2.75 .893 — — — — — — — —
1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 40 20 10 5 2187 122 2 3.35 .873 4 0 3 213 16 0 4.51 .826
1979–80 Washington Capitals NHL 56 18 24 10 3146 187 0 3.57 .880 — — — — — — — —
1980–81 Washington Capitals NHL 20 4 7 5 1010 66 1 3.92 .867 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 328 146 103 49 18,343 937 14 3.06 .892 26 11 12 1522 79 2 3.11 .889

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1967 Canada WC 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00
1968 Canada OG 3 2 0 0 140 3 1 1.29
1969 Canada WC 8 3 5 0 480 27 1 3.38
Senior totals 12 6 5 0 680 31 2 2.74

"Stephenson's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-09-28.

References

  1. ^ Sherman, David (September 2003). Philadelphia Flyers Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-58261-577-6. 9781582615776. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Obituaries 7-2-10". The Barnstable Patriot. Madison, Wisconsin. July 2, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Bausman, Chuck (August 6, 2010). "Former Flyers goalie Stephenson dies at 65". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 21, 2024.