Caught Left Weight 79 kg Name Wayne Stephenson Career end 1981 | Playing career Career start 1971 Height 1.75 m | |
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Born January 29, 1945Fort William, ON, CAN ( 1945-01-29 ) Played for St. Louis BluesPhiladelphia FlyersWashington Capitals | ||
78 showdown final game Pt 2 of 2
Wayne Frederick Stephenson (January 29, 1945 – June 22, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Fort William, Ontario.
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Playing career
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. 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.
Stephenson died from brain cancer. He was married for 39 years to his wife Nedina and had four children, two sons and two daughters.
Awards and achievements
