Andrew Aitkenhead (March 6, 1904 — October 21, 1968) was a Scottish-born Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

between 1932 and 1934. Born in Glasgow, Aitkenhead came to Canada as a young child with his family, and grew up in

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Playing career

Andy Aitkenkead played ten years in various minor leagues in Western Canada, most notably appearing in the 1923 Memorial Cup with the

Saskatoon Quakers The Saskatoon Quakers were an ice hockey team that was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team played in various senior ice hockey leagues, and later played in minor league professional hockey. The Quakers represented Canada in 1934 Worl ...

. After turning pro, Aitkenhead took two teams to the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

finals, the Saskatoon Nationals and the Saskatoon Empires, in 1924 and 1926 respectively. Originally taken by the Rangers in the Inter-league draft from the

Saskatoon Shieks The Saskatoon Sheiks/Saskatoon Crescents were a professional ice hockey team in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and Prairie Hockey League (PrHL) from 1921 to 1928. The team played their home games at the Crescent Arena in Saskatoon, S ...

in 1928, his rights were sent back and forth between the Rangers and the Portland Buckaroos of the PCHL, until he finally signed with the Rangers as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1931. He made his debut for the Rangers on November 10, 1932, at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by '' Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the ...

against the

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the las ...

. He won the job as starting goaltender for the Rangers from

John Ross Roach John Ross Roach (June 23, 1900 – July 9, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League between 1921 and 1935. His nicknames were "Little Napoleon", "The Housecleaner", and "The Port Perry Cucum ...

, who had twice led the team to the Stanley Cup Final. In his first two seasons in New York, Aitkenhead played in every single game for the Rangers, and he put up solid numbers. In his first season in New York, Aitkenhead was fourth in the league in

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

, as well as fourth in wins. In that

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, he led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup, their second, in 1933. He posted a

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in the clinching game, in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

, against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. The following season, Aitkenhead finished fifth overall in goals against, yet second in wins, and third in shutouts, however the Rangers were eliminated by the Maroons in the opening round of the playoffs. In 1935 Aitkenhead struggled, and eventually lost the starting job to

Dave Kerr David Alexander Kerr (January 11, 1909 – May 11, 1978) was a Canadian NHL goaltender who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and New York Rangers. Playing career He played amateur hockey before joining the NHL, winning the Al ...

. He played only 10 games that season. Kerr later said that Aitkenhead's obsession with his game were what got to him, and led to his departure from the NHL. After 1935 Andy Aitkenhead was returned to the minor leagues. Aitkenhead spent 6 seasons with the Portland Buckaroos of the PCHL before retiring from hockey in 1941.

Legacy

In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Aitkenhead at No. 97 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons. Aitkenhead was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1987.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links