Ernie Wakely

Ernie Wakely
Date of birth	November 27, 1940
place of birth	Flin Flon , Manitoba , Canada
size	180 cm
Weight	73 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Career stations
1957-1961	Winnipeg Braves
1961–1962	North Bay Trappers Kingston Frontenacs
1962-1963	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
1963-1964	Omaha Knights
1964-1965	Cleveland Barons Québec Aces
1965-1966	Seattle totems
1967-1968	Houston Apollos
1968-1969	Cleveland Barons
1969-1972	St. Louis Blues
1972-1974	Winnipeg Jets
1974-1977	San Diego Mariners
1977	Cincinnati stingers
1977-1988	Houston Eros
1978-1979	Birmingham Bulls

Ernest Alfred Linton "Ernie" Wakely (born November 27, 1940 in Flin Flon , Manitoba ) is a former Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who played for the Montréal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League and the Winnipeg Jets , San from 1962 to 1979 Diego Mariners , Cincinnati Stingers , Houston Eros and Birmingham Bulls played in the World Hockey Association .

Career

As a junior he played with the Winnipeg Braves , with whom he won the 1959 Memorial Cup . In the WHL , he made his first professional experience with the Winnipeg Warriors . With Harry Lumley , an experienced NHL goalkeeper from the past was at his side.

The Montreal Canadiens had their rights for the NHL. They brought him as a promising young goalkeeper in their farm team for the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in the EPHL . In the NHL, the regular place with goalkeeping legend Jacques Plante was permanently occupied and so a mission in the 1962/63 season was long his only NHL experience.

In the following years missions followed with the Omaha Knights in the CPHL , in the AHL with the Quebec Aces and the Cleveland Barons and in the WHL for the Seattle Totems . For his second use with the Canadiens he came in the 1968/69 season . The team was so well filled with Rogatien Vachon , Gump Worsley and Tony Esposito in the goalkeeping position that he had no real chance of a place there.

In the 1969/70 season , the St. Louis Blues were looking for a younger goalkeeper. In the first few years after expansion, Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall had made the team one of the most successful of the new teams. But both were now over 40 years old and so they brought Wakely, who was almost 30 years old. In exchange, Norm Beaudin went to Montreal , among others . In the three years with the Blues he was able to prove his NHL suitability and was also honored with a nomination for the NHL All-Star Game .

With the World Hockey Association , a new league came up that was primarily looking for strong players in the NHL who were not in the limelight. Wakeley fit exactly into the requirement profile and since the offer was not only lucrative, but also asked a team from his home region with the Winnipeg Jets , the decision to change was not difficult. Here he formed a goalkeeping team with Joe Daley in the 1972/73 season . The two became long-running favorites in the league. The Jets had such good support and in the attack, Bobby Hull and Norm Beaudin led the team.

Shortly after the beginning of the 1974/75 season , he moved to the San Diego Mariners , where he set almost all franchise records in three seasons. After the Mariners were dissolved, he started the 1977/78 season for the Cincinnati Stingers , but shortly after the start of the season he moved to the Houston Eros .

The 1978/79 season was not only the last of the WHA, it was also his last season. The Birmingham Bulls bet on youth, but in order to provide the hopeful Pat Riggin with an experienced man, they brought in Wakely, who is now 37 years old. He supported the young goalkeeper and also managed to set the records for most games and shutouts in the WHA. Only when it came to victories was his former teammate Joe Daley three ahead of him.

statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutouts
NHL Regular Season	5	113	0.363	2.79	8th
NHL playoffs	3	10	0.200	4.36	1
WHA regular season	7th	334	0.491	3.30	16
WHA playoffs	4th	31	0.484	3.76	2

Sporting successes

• Memorial Cup : 1959
• Adams Cup (CPHL): 1964

Personal awards

• Terry Sawchuk Trophy (Fewest goals conceded in CPHL): 1964
• CPHL Second All-Star Team: 1968
• AHL Second All-Star Team : 1969
• WHA Second All-Star Team : 1978
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1971
• Participation in the WHA All-Star Game : 1973 and 1974

Records

• 334 games and 19,331 minutes played as a goalkeeper in the regular season of the World Hockey Association
• 16 shutouts in the World Hockey Association regular season

Web links

• Ernie Wakely at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Ernie Wakely at hockeydb.com (English)
• Ernie Wakely at hockeygoalies.org