Wayne Francis Connelly (born December 16, 1939) 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

with 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 ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, Detroit Red Wings,

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

, and

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 (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

and finished his career 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). Connelly was born in Rouyn,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and grew up in

Teck Teck may refer to: * Teck Castle (Burg Teck) in Württemberg, Germany * Teckberg, mountain on which it is located * Duke of Teck, a title of nobility, associated with Teck Castle * Teck Railway, Germany * Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Playing career

Connelly played a total of 543 games in the NHL with 133 goals and 174 assists for a total of 307 points. In addition, he played 366 games in the WHA for the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. T ...

Calgary Cowboys The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, t ...

, and

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 ...

with 167 goals and 162 assists for 329 points. Connelly won the Red Tilson Award in 1959–60 as the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

's most outstanding player while with the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

. Connelly scored 235 points in 4 seasons with the Petes (1956–1960). On November 29, 1961, Connelly scored his first NHL goal in Boston's 7-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It occurred at Chicago Stadium. On October 19, 1966,

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on a powerplay goal by Connelly in Boston's 6–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. In the NHL's first year of expansion, 1967–68, Connelly led the Minnesota North Stars with 35 goals and 21 assists and received the Hockey News West Player of the Year award. On April 9, 1968, Connelly became the first player to score a goal on a penalty shot in the NHL playoffs when he beat

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Terry Sawchuk Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929 – May 31, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kin ...

in a 7–5 victory for his Minnesota North Stars.

Personal life

Connelly and his wife Reg have two children, Ann and Stephen. He lives on Lake Kenogami located near Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario.

Regular season and playoffs

External links

* 1939 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Boston Bruins players Calgary Cowboys players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cleveland Crusaders players Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Ontario Ice hockey people from Quebec Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players Minnesota Fighting Saints players Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Royals (EPHL) players People from Rouyn-Noranda Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Sportspeople from Kirkland Lake St. Louis Blues players Vancouver Canucks players {{Canada-icehockey-winger-1930s-stub