Doug Favell

Douglas Robert Favell (born April 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former professional box lacrosse player. Favell played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies. He played professional box lacrosse for the St. Catharines Golden Hawks, the Detroit Olympics and the Philadelphia Wings before he was forced to quit by the Toronto Maple Leafs

Playing career

Favell, along with future Flyers' teammate Bernie Parent, played his junior hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers in the OHA. After the club won the Memorial Cup in 1965, both goalies began their professional careers in the Boston Bruins organization, who held their rights. Over the next two seasons, Favell played in the Bruins' farm system.

Favell, like Chicago Black Hawks goaltender Tony Esposito, was one of the few goaltenders then to employ the now-popular butterfly style, often going down to the ice to block shots in an era where the stand-up style of play dominated.

With the arrival of the six new expansion clubs for the 1967–68 NHL season, Favell and Parent were selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. The goalies split the work that first season and led the Flyers to a first-place finish in the NHL's Western Division. Favell had a stellar 2.27 GAA with four shutouts. Both goalies toiled for the Flyers until Parent was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 1971.

Without Parent, Favell became the Flyers' workhorse goalie. He recorded seasons of 44, 54 and 44 games with GAAs of 2.66, 2.81 and 2.83 on an improving Flyers team. In 1973, the Flyers reached the league semifinals and Favell was one of the top players, appearing in 11 playoff games and recording a 2.60 GAA and one shutout.

Before the next season, Favell was traded to the Maple Leafs for none other than Bernie Parent. The Leafs had three veteran goalies but Favell played the most games in the regular season and playoffs. He recorded a strong win–loss record with a solid 2.71 GAA in 32 games. The following season saw the Leafs rely on two goalies, but Favell struggled in 39 games with the poorest goals against (4.05) of his career. His third season with the team was his last with only three games played and extended time on the injury list.

Favell's NHL rights were sold to the Colorado Rockies for the 1976–77 NHL season. After appearing in 30 games that season, Favell became the Rockies top goalie the following year, appearing in 47 contests. The 1978-79 campaign, however, would be his last in the NHL; battling injuries, Favell appeared in only seven games with the Rockies, with a dismal 0-5-2 record and a 5.38 GAA. He wound up playing most of the season in Philadelphia, with the Firebirds of the American Hockey League.

Colorado exposed him to the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft. Selected by the Edmonton Oilers, he opted to retire instead of start fresh with a new franchise. Favell holds the distinction of being the only player selected in both the 1967 and 1979 NHL Expansion Drafts. Favell was known for an abruptly curved blocker pad on his stick hand. While Bruins goaltender Gerry Cheevers, Favell's goaltending partner for the Oklahoma City Blazers, was the first goaltender to have artwork on his mask, Favell was the first to use a painted design, just before Halloween 1970.

Lacrosse Favell also played lacrosse professionally for the Detroit Olympics of the National Lacrosse Association in 1968, St. Catharines Golden Hawks of the Major Series Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League in 1974. Favell was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2005.

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% 1962–63 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 1 — — — 60 2 0 2.00 — — — — — — — — — 1963–64 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 28 — — — 1748 98 3 3.36 — — — — — — — — — 1964–65 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 22 — — — 1320 79 0 3.59 — 3 2 1 180 9 0 3.00 — 1964–65 Niagara Falls Flyers M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 2 1 0 80 3 0 2.25 — 1964–65 Minneapolis Bruins CPHL 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 18 4 8 5 1060 59 0 3.34 — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 San Francisco Seals WHL 2 1 1 0 120 6 0 3.00 — 2 0 2 113 10 0 5.31 — 1966–67 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 33 14 13 4 1860 88 1 2.83 — — — — — — — — — 1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 37 15 15 6 2192 83 4 2.27 .931 2 1 1 120 8 0 4.00 .871 1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 21 3 12 5 1195 71 1 3.56 .902 1 0 1 60 5 0 5.00 .861 1968–69 Quebec Aces AHL 4 0 4 0 199 16 0 4.82 — — — — — — — — — 1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 15 4 5 4 820 43 1 3.15 .917 — — — — — — — — 1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 44 16 15 9 2434 108 2 2.66 .915 2 0 2 119 8 0 4.00 .867 1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 54 18 25 9 2993 140 5 2.81 .916 — — — — — — — — 1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 44 20 15 4 2419 114 3 2.83 .913 11 5 6 666 29 1 2.60 .920 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 32 14 7 9 1752 79 0 2.71 .909 3 0 3 181 10 0 3.31 .912 1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 39 12 17 6 2149 145 1 4.05 .878 — — — — — — — — 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 2 1 160 15 0 5.63 .786 — — — — — — — — 1975–76 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 4 3 1 0 240 12 0 3.00 — — — — — — — — — 1976–77 Colorado Rockies NHL 30 8 15 3 1614 105 0 3.90 .895 — — — — — — — — 1977–78 Colorado Rockies NHL 47 13 20 11 2663 159 1 3.58 .888 — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Colorado Rockies NHL 7 0 5 2 380 34 0 5.37 .816 2 0 2 120 6 0 3.00 .933 1978–79 Philadelphia Firebirds AHL 32 12 15 4 1834 137 1 4.48 — — — — — — — — — NHL totals 373 123 153 69 20771 1096 18 3.17 .905 21 6 15 1265 66 1 3.13 908