Edward Abel Joyal (born May 8, 1940) is a Canadian former professional

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

who played in 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 ...

(NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings,

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

between 1963 and 1972. He also played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) with the Alberta Oilers/Edmonton Oilers between 1972 and 1976.

Early life

Born in St. Albert, Alberta, Joyal learned to play ice hockey on a frozen river downhill from his home. When healthy, he impressed with the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers ...

of the WCJHL. He scored 84 points in two seasons when he was restricted to 58 games due to injuries.

Career

Joyal signed on with the Detroit Red Wings and began his pro career with the Edmonton Flyers of WHL in 1960–61. After scoring 37 goals in 1961–62, he was elevated to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL the next season and scored ten points in 14 games for the Detroit Red Wings. Joyal suited up for 47 games the next year and helped the Wings reach the

1964 Stanley Cup Finals The 1964 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1963–64 season, and the culmination of the 1964 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the defending champion Toronto Maple Leafs and the De ...

. His winning goal against

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 ...

Johnny Bower John William Bower (né Kiszkan; November 8, 1924 – December 26, 2017), nicknamed "The China Wall", was a Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender who won four Stanley Cups during his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2017 he was named one ...

gave his team a 3–2 edge in a series they failed to close out. Joyal played one more season in Detroit before being traded to the

where he played in 14 games during 1965–66. NHL expansion gave Joyal's career new life. He was claimed by the

and went on to enjoy four and a half impressive years on the West Coast. He hit the 20-goal mark three times including a career-high 33 goals in 1968–69. He was traded along with

Ross Lonsberry David Ross Lonsberry (February 7, 1947 – May 4, 2014) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philade ...

Bill Flett William Mayer Flett (July 21, 1943 – July 12, 1999) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames. Flett then moved t ...

and

Jean Potvin Jean René Potvin (March 25, 1949 – March 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, ...

from the Kings to the Flyers for

Serge Bernier Serge Joseph Bernier (born April 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Quebec Nordiques and six seasons ...

, Bill Lesuk and Jim Johnson on January 28, 1972.William Flett (RW) 1971–1974 – Philadelphia Flyers.
Retrieved January 24, 2023. He was a role player with the Flyers for the rest of the season. After being chosen in the

WHA General Player Draft The World Hockey Association General Player Draft was held over the course of two days, February 12 and February 13, 1972, in Anaheim, California. The purpose of the draft was to establish an orderly process through which WHA teams would stock their ...

, Joyal played four years with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. He scored 22 goals twice and helped his team make the playoffs in 1973–74.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* 1940 births Living people Calgary Stampeders (WHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Ice hockey people from Alberta Los Angeles Kings players Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Hornets players Rochester Americans players Sportspeople from St. Albert, Alberta Toronto Maple Leafs players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1940s-stub