John Wensink

John Wensink
Born (1953-04-01) April 1, 1953 (age 71)
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins
Quebec Nordiques
Colorado Rockies
New Jersey Devils
National team  Netherlands
NHL draft 104th overall, 1973
St. Louis Blues
WHA draft 28th overall, 1973
New York Golden Blades
Playing career 1973–1983

John Wensink (born April 1, 1953) is a Dutch–Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), most prominently with the Boston Bruins. Wensink played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins in 1977 and 1978.

Wensink grew up in Maxville, Ontario, the son of Dutch immigrants, and played for the Netherlands national team in the 1989 World Championships.

Career

Wensink is best remembered for his time with the Boston Bruins, where he teamed with Terry O'Reilly and Stan Jonathan as the team's enforcers. On December 1, 1977, Wensink, after fighting Alex Pirus of the Minnesota North Stars, skated to the Minnesota bench and challenged the entire team, but no player responded.[1] Wensink is also well-known for the large afro that he sported on the ice. In another scrap with Bob Kelly, Wensink and Kelly were pulling at each other's hair.

Besides his skill as a fighter, Wensink could score as well. He had a career high 46 points in the 1978–79 season for the Bruins.

Wensink also played for the St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Rockies and the New Jersey Devils. He finished his career with the Nijmegen Tigers in the Dutch Eredivisie in 1984–85.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended, Wensink moved to St. Charles, Missouri, and started a home renovation company,[2] where he also plays senior hockey. Wensink has been active as a pee-wee hockey coach.[3] He is still active with the St. Louis Blues Alumni and the Boston Bruins Alumni hockey teams.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1970–71 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 57 11 6 17 151 — — — — —
1971–72 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 60 10 22 32 169 15 2 2 4 64
1972–73 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 52 9 26 35 242 16 1 6 7 55
1973–74 St. Louis Blues NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1973–74 Rochester Americans AHL 36 6 2 8 139 5 0 0 0 29
1974–75 Denver Spurs CHL 21 3 8 11 75 — — — — —
1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 23 4 6 10 32 13 0 3 3 8
1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 80 16 20 36 181 15 2 2 4 54
1978–79 Boston Bruins NHL 76 28 18 46 108 8 0 1 1 19
1979–80 Boston Bruins NHL 69 9 11 20 110 4 0 0 0 5
1980–81 Quebec Nordiques NHL 53 6 3 9 124 3 0 0 0 0
1981–82 Colorado Rockies NHL 57 5 3 8 152 — — — — —
1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL 42 2 7 9 135 — — — — —
1982–83 Wichita Wind CHL 7 1 0 1 36 — — — — —
1984–85 Vissers Nijmegen NED 14 15 12 27 39 — — — — —
NHL totals 403 70 68 138 842 43 2 6 8 86

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1989 Netherlands WC-C 7 3 5 8 10
Senior totals 7 3 5 8 10

References

  1. ^ Kamchen, Richard (31 March 2013). "Backchecking: Brad Maxwell". TheHockeyNews. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (1 January 1995). "Ex-Players Can Understand Both NHL Sides". Deseret News. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Meet Me In St. Louis | USA Hockey Magazine". www.usahockeymagazine.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.