Ron Barkwell (born December 14, 1946) is a 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 hock ...

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 eccentricity ...

who was drafted 1st (9th overall) by 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 ...

, but never 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 ...

Playing career

Barkwell starting play in his hometown of Moose Jaw with the

Moose Jaw Canucks The Moose Jaw Canucks were a junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. They were one of the founding members of the ''Western Canada Junior Hockey League'' (known today as the Western Hockey League) in 1966 following a rebel ...

of the

TBJHL The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league that existed from c. 1920 to 1980. The TBJHL operated in Northwestern Ontario, primarily in the Thunder Bay region. The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League wa ...

. He was soon moved to the

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadian ...

of the

MJHL 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 ...

where he was a proficient at both centre and

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

. The Detroit Red Wings took a gamble by selecting Barkwell with their first pick in the

1967 NHL Entry Draft The 1967 NHL Amateur Draft was the fifth NHL Entry Draft. It was held June 7, 1967, the day after the 1967 expansion draft, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Listed below are the selections in the 1967 NHL am ...

. The Wings hoped that Barkwell would continue to develop and become an active member of the organization. However, Barkwell would never play in the NHL. He joined the

Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Jet ...

of the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

in 1967 and only put up 8 points in 21 games. The following season he joined the

Port Huron Flags The Port Huron Flags were a minor league professional ice hockey team located in Port Huron, Michigan. The Flags competed in the International Hockey League between 1962 and 1981. For three of those seasons from 1971 to 1974, Port Huron was a f ...

of the International Hockey League and only put up 3 points in 18 games. He was quickly downgraded to the

WIHL The Western International Hockey League (WIHL) was a senior level ice hockey league that featured teams from the Western United States and Western Canada. It operated from 1946–62 and 1963–88. It grew out of the West Kootenay League, whi ...

, where he joined the

Nelson Maple Leafs The Nelson Maple Leafs were a senior men's ice hockey team. They won the British Columbia Senior Championship, the Savage Cup, seven times (1937, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1986, and 1987). They played in, but lost, the 1965 Allan Cup Final. The Ma ...

. He continued to disappoint and was dropped after the 1968–69 season. Barkwell would retire from hockey, having never found a way to excel in the higher leagues.

External links

*
Ron's Bio on Hockey Draft Central.com
1946 births Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings draft picks Flin Flon Bombers players Ice hockey people from Moose Jaw Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1940s-stub