Tom Webster (ice hockey player)

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CanadaCanada  Tom Webster Ice hockey player
Tom Webster (ice hockey player)
Date of birth October 4, 1948
place of birth Kirkland Lake , Ontario , Canada
date of death April 10, 2020
Nickname Hawk Eye
size 178 cm
Weight 77 kg
position Right wing
Shot hand Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft 1966 , 4th lap, 19th position
Boston Bruins
Career stations
1963-1965 Holy Name Irish
1965-1968 Niagara Falls Flyers
1968-1970 Boston Bruins
1970-1971 Detroit Red Wings
1971-1972 California Golden Seals
1972-1979 New England Whalers
1979-1980 Detroit Red Wings

Thomas Ronald "Tom" Webster (born October 4, 1948 in Kirkland Lake , Ontario ; † April 10, 2020 ) was a Canadian ice hockey player , coach and scout . The defender played 102 games for the Boston Bruins , Detroit Red Wings and California Golden Seals in the National Hockey League (NHL), but was mostly on the ice with the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). With the Whalers, for which he completed 352 games, he won the Avco World Trophy in 1973 . He then worked for over 30 years as a coach and scout, where he was head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers in the NHL .

Career

Webster grew up as one of eight children and played during his junior years with Derek Sanderson , Jean Pronovost and Rick Ley at the Niagara Falls Flyers in the Ontario Hockey Association , which were then supported by the Boston Bruins . The Bruins finally selected him in the fourth round of the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft as the 19th player. At the end of an excellent 1967/68 season, he and his team won the Memorial Cup .

In the 1968/69 season he made his debut in the NHL, but the Bruins squad was very strong at this time with Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito . He came to only eleven missions with the Bruins in two seasons and mostly he was used with the Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Hockey League . In the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft , the Buffalo Sabers chose him , but on the same day they exchanged him with the Detroit Red Wings , who sent Roger Crozier to the Sabers for it. In the 1970/71 season he was instantly the best scorer in Detroit. Surprisingly, the Red Wings gave him to the California Golden Seals shortly after the start of the following season for Ron Stackhouse . A back injury soon ended this season for him.

For the 1972/73 season he followed like many others the call of the newly formed World Hockey Association and signed a contract with the New England Whalers . There he met Rick Ley again, with whom he had played as a teenager. The first season he finished as the fourth best scorer in the league. The playoffs were also successful. He himself was the second best scorer and won the Avco World Trophy with his team . At the 1974 Summit Series , he represented Canada against the Soviet Union team . Also in the following years he was a support for the Whalers. In the 1975/76 season he triumphed again in the playoffs and was by far the best scorer among the players who did not reach the final. Although he missed the last season in the history of the WHA due to injury, he was the seventh best scorer in the history of the WHA with 220 goals.

Once again he tried the jump into the NHL and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings for the 1979/80 season . He only played one game for Detroit, but for the farm team Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League , he not only played a few games, but was promoted to coach of the team during the season. After engagements with the Springfield Indians in the AHL, the Tulsa Oilers in the CHL and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the International Hockey League , he took over the junior team of the Windsor Compuware Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League . During this time he took over the New York Rangers for 14 games in the 1986/87 season .

In the 1989/90 season he took over his first long-term coaching position with an NHL team. The Los Angeles Kings around Wayne Gretzky were a big challenge here. He looked after the Kings for three seasons before taking over the Detroit Junior Red Wings in the OHL in 1992 . In 1994 he returned to the NHL. As an assistant coach, he was with the Philadelphia Flyers for two years before moving to the Hartford Whalers in the same position . He moved with the Whalers and stayed at the new location with the Carolina Hurricanes for two years . From 1999 to 2003 he returned to the Windsor Spitfires. He then changed profession and worked as a scout for the Calgary Flames for more than ten years before retiring from professional ice hockey after the 2013/14 season.

Webster died on April 10, 2020 at the age of 71.

Achievements and Awards

Records

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1965/66 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 43 16 27 43 16 6th 2 3 5 0
1966/67 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 47 19th 26th 45 26th 13 14th 8th 22nd 4th
1967/68 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 54 50 64 114 55 19th 13 13 26th 20th
1968 Niagara Falls Flyers Memorial Cup 10 7th 11 18th 10
1968/69 Boston Bruins NHL 9 0 2 2 9 1 0 0 0 0
1968/69 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 44 29 42 71 31 12 10 8th 18th 19th
1969/70 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 1 1 2 - - - - -
1969/70 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 49 29 35 64 49 - - - - -
1970/71 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 30th 37 67 40 - - - - -
1971/72 Detroit Red Wings NHL 5 1 1 2 4th - - - - -
1971/72 California Golden Seals NHL 7th 2 1 3 6th - - - - -
1972/73 New England Whalers WHA 77 53 50 103 89 15th 12 14th 26th 6th
1973/74 New England Whalers WHA 64 43 27 70 28 3 5 0 5 7th
1974/75 New England Whalers WHA 66 40 24 64 52 3 0 2 2 0
1975/76 New England Whalers WHA 55 33 50 83 24 17th 10 9 19th 6th
1976/77 New England Whalers WHA 70 36 49 85 43 5 1 1 2 0
1977/78 New England Whalers WHA 20th 15th 5 20th 5 - - - - -
1979/80 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
1979/80 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 12 4th 5 9 2 - - - - -
OHA total 144 85 117 202 97 38 29 24 53 24
CHL total 93 58 77 135 80 12 10 8th 18th 19th
NHL overall 102 33 42 75 61 1 0 0 0 0
WHA total 352 220 205 425 241 43 28 26th 54 19th

International

Represented Canada to:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1974 Canada Summit Series 2nd place 4th 2 0 2 4th
Men overall 4th 2 0 2 4th

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

NHL coaching statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp S. N U Pt space Sp S. N result
1986/87 New York Rangers NHL 18th 5 9 4th (14) 4th, Patrick - - - Interim post
1989/90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 34 39 7th 75 4th, Smythe 10 4th 6th Loss in the division final
1990/91 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 46 24 10 102 1st, Smythe 12 6th 6th Loss in the division final
1991/92 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 35 31 14th 84 2nd, Smythe 6th 2 4th Loss in the division semi-finals
NHL overall 258 120 103 35 275 1 division title 28 12 16 0 Stanley Cups

( Legend for coach statistics: Sp or GC = total games; W or S = wins scored; L or N = losses scored; T or U = draws scored; OTL or OTN = losses scored after overtime or shootout ; Pts or Pkt = points scored ; Pts% or Pkt% = point rate; Win% = win rate; result = round reached in the play-offs )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Kreiser: Webster, former NHL player, coach, dies at 71.nhl.com, April 10, 2020, accessed on April 10, 2020 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Webster, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Webster, Thomas Ronald (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirkland Lake , Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 2020