Wayne Chernecki (August 12, 1949—February 11, 2013) was 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 ...

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 ...

player who played professionally from 1971 to 1975.

Career

Chernecki played junior hockey with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

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 ...

. In his final season with the Jets, he was one of the league's most prolific scorers, amassing 123 points in only 65 games. The

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

selected Chernecki in the 4th round (#45) of the

1969 NHL Amateur Draft The 1969 NHL Amateur Draft was the seventh NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. This draft is notable for being the first NHL draft to be conducted after the league ended direct sponsorship of junior hoc ...

; however he choose to remain with the Jets and pursue a business degree. After graduating from university in 1971, Chernecki turned pro and went on to play 263 regular season games in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

with the Springfield Kings and

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...

. A serious knee injury forced him to retire in 1975.

Post career

After retiring as a player, Chernecki coached in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

, leading the

St. James Canadians The St. James Canadians were a Canadian junior hockey team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League until 2003, folding officially in 2004. The Canadians played out of the St. James Civic Centre, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the Winnipeg Braves, they ...

to consecutive league titles. At the same time, he built a successful career as a businessman, becoming an executive in David Thomson's business empire and serving on the board of directors for True North Sports & Entertainment.

Personal

Chernecki died of lung cancer on February 11, 2013, at the age of 63. Chernecki was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com
1949 births 2013 deaths Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings draft picks Providence Reds players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Springfield Kings players University of Manitoba alumni Winnipeg Jets (WHL) players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1940s-stub