Jim Agnew (born March 21, 1966) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. A stay-at-home, physical defender, Agnew was also an excellent fighter. He was drafted by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

in the eighth round (157th overall) in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...

. After a stellar career in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

with the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hoc ...

and

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split the ...

, Agnew turned pro and signed with the Canucks in 1986.

Playing career

Agnew spent most of the 1986–87 in the AHL, although he did receive a four-game call-up to the Canucks. He would spend four full seasons in Vancouver's minor-league system while seeing occasional action in Vancouver - he played 10 games for the team in the 1987–88 and recorded his only career point, and was called up again for 7 games in 1989–90. While playing for the Canucks in March 1990, Agnew seriously injured his left knee and required surgery. This would be the start of a chronic knee problem - injuries to his left knee caused him to miss significant action 6 times over the next four seasons, and required three separate surgeries. Unfortunately, his knee problems struck just as he made the NHL on a full-time basis. He spent virtually the entire 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons on the Canuck roster as a utility player seeing action at both forward and defence, but was limited to just 44 games over that stretch due to injury and failed to record a point. He was released by the Canucks in 1992 and signed as a free agent with the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

. Again, however, he was limited to only 16 games by an injury to his left knee. After injuring his knee again during the Whalers' 1993 training camp, he decided to retire. Agnew appeared in 81 NHL games over parts of six seasons, recording 1 assist and 257 penalty minutes. After his playing days were over, Agnew moved to

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

, became a United States citizen, and found work as a law enforcement officer.

Career statistics

Awards

* WHL West First All-Star Team – 1986

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Jim 1966 births Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Fredericton Express players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Living people Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players People from Deloraine, Manitoba Sportspeople from Missoula, Montana Portland Winterhawks players Springfield Indians players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players American police officers