Wayne Connelly

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.

Playing career

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 Connelly and his wife Reg have two children, Ann and Stephen. He lives on Lake Kenogami located near Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario.

Statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs 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