Weldon Frederick Kenneth Gordon (May 6, 1900 — November 26, 1985) was 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 hock ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played in 80

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 ...

games for the Detroit Cougars and the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. He later coached the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association.

Professional career

Minor league hockey

Gordon starting play for the 1921–22 season with the Indian Head Tigers of the Regina City Senior League. He scored 12 goals in 9 games with the club and would return the following season. He continued his scoring pace and was moved to the Brandon Regals for the 1923–24 season. He scored 9 points that season and was noticed by the Saskatoon Shieks of the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

. He was signed to a contract and Gordon joined the Shieks for the 1924–25 and 1925–26 seasons. He did not produce as much as the management would have liked and was traded on October 27, 1926 to the Detroit Cougars.

Playing in the NHL

Gordon scored five goals as an NHL rookie in 1926–27 to go along with five assists while playing on a line with

Duke Keats Gordon Blanchard "Duke, Iron Duke" Keats (March 1, 1895 – January 16, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA), Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hocke ...

and

Johnny Sheppard Joseph John Oswald "Jake" Sheppard (July 27, 1902 – August 28, 1969) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Cougars, New York Americans, Boston Bruins and Chicag ...

. Gordon proved he was an effective role player and was traded after his rookie season to the

for

Harry Meeking Henry Arthur "Hurricane Howie" Meeking (November 4, 1894 – December 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played three seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Arenas, Detroit Cougars and Boston Bruins. He was ...

on May 22, 1927. Gordon scored five points and 40

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

for Boston in 1927–28 and even helped them reach the playoffs, eventually falling to 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 ...

in the semi-final.

Joining the AHA

After his season with Boston, Gordon did not return to the NHL and decided to join the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the American Hockey Association. He spent three seasons as a Miller, scoring 38 points and racking up 133 PIMs. He was traded to the

Buffalo Majors The Buffalo Majors were a professional ice hockey team in the city of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York (state), New York. The team played two seasons in the American Hockey Association (1926–1942), American Hockey Association. The team was o ...

for the 1931–32 season and continued his status as an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer'' ...

, scoring five goals and putting up 26 PIMs. His old team, the Saskatoon Shieks, now renamed the Saskatoon Crescents, decided to sign him as a free agent on November 8, 1932. However, he suited up for only three games in the 1932–33 season before suffering a season-ending injury. Gordon was let go after his year-long contract was up and he returned to the AHA, joining the first-place Kansas City Greyhounds. He had his most productive season to date in 1933–34, scoring 22 points and putting up 52 PIMs. Gordon led the Greyhounds into the playoffs and won the Harry F. Sinclair Trophy as league Champions. He would play one more season with the Greyhounds before retiring from playing ice hockey after the 1934–35 season.

Coaching

After taking a year off as an amateur

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

, Gordon was asked to step in and coach the Tulsa Oilers. He agreed and was put into place towards the end of the Oilers' losing season. He was given full control for the 1937–38 season and coached the Oilers to a winning season with a record of 22–21–5. The following season saw the Oilers finishing with a 25–23–2 record, and saw Gordon hit the ice to come out of retirement. He skated in one game in which he scored an assist and four PIMs. The 1939–40 season would be his last as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

when he led the Oilers to a 16–30–0 season, their worst season in years. Gordon decided to retire from coaching ice hockey in 1940.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

*Harry F. Sinclair Trophy winner: 1933–34 (Kansas City Greyhounds - AHA)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Fred 1900 births 1985 deaths Boston Bruins players Buffalo Majors players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Detroit Cougars players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kansas City Greyhounds players Minneapolis Millers (AHA) players Saskatoon Sheiks players Tulsa Oilers (AHA) players Western Canada Hockey League players