Walt McKechnie
Date of birth | June 19, 1947 |
place of birth | London , Ontario , Canada |
size | 188 cm |
Weight | 88 kg |
position | center |
Shot hand | Left |
Draft | |
NHL Amateur Draft |
1963 , 1st round, 6th position Toronto Maple Leafs |
Career stations | |
1965-1967 | London Nationals |
1967-1968 | Phoenix Roadrunners |
1968-1971 |
Minnesota North Stars Iowa Stars Cleveland Barons |
1971-1974 | California Golden Seals |
1974-1975 | Boston Bruins |
1975-1977 | Detroit Red Wings |
1977 | Washington Capitals |
1977-1988 | Cleveland Barons |
1978-1980 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
1980-1981 | Colorado Rockies |
1981-1983 | Detroit Red Wings |
1983-1984 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles |
Walter Thomas John "Walt" McKechnie (born June 19, 1947 in London , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player . The center played between 1967 and 1984 over 900 games in the National Hockey League , with his career characterized by constant changes and he ran up for a total of eight NHL and four other minor league teams.
Career
Beginnings
Walt McKechnie played in Sarnia in his youth before he was selected in the 1963 NHL Amateur Draft in sixth position by the Toronto Maple Leafs . He then ran for their junior team, the London Nationals , who participated in the Ontario Hockey Association's game operations at the beginning of the 1965/66 season . The jump into the roster of the Maple Leafs succeeded the attacker in the episode, however, so that the Maple Leafs gave him in October 1967 in exchange for Steve Witiuk to the Phoenix Roadrunners from the Western Hockey League . There he completed his first professional season, scored 54 scorer points in 67 games and was consequently named Rookie of the Year. In addition, he managed to return to the National Hockey League (NHL) in the same season by being committed by the Minnesota North Stars and completing his first NHL games for them. In the course of the next two and a half years, however, the Canadian was unable to establish himself in the North Stars squad, but instead spent about half the time with their farm teams , the Iowa Stars from the Central Hockey League (CHL) and the Cleveland Barons from the American Hockey League .
NHL
Finally, McKechnie and Joey Johnston were handed over to the California Golden Seals in May 1971 , while Dennis Hextall moved to Minnesota in return . In the Golden Seals, the center promptly earned a regular place and led the team in points in the 1972/73 season (54). In June 1974 he got to the New York Rangers via the Intra-League Draft , who transferred him to the Boston Bruins only two days later in exchange for Derek Sanderson . In Boston, the Canadian could not build on his previous achievements, so the Bruins sent him to the Detroit Red Wings in February 1975, including their third-round voting rights for the NHL Amateur Draft 1975 , and Hank Nowak and Earl Anderson received him. In the Red Wings jersey, McKechnie achieved his best personal NHL statistic in the subsequent 1975/76 season, with 82 points in 80 games and thus a one-time point average of over 1.0. His achievements ensured that he took part in the 1977 World Cup with the Canadian national team and finished fourth there.
Together with a third-round suffrage in the NHL Amateur Draft 1978 and a second-round suffrage in the NHL Entry Draft 1979 , he was given in August 1977 to the Washington Capitals . In return, Detroit received the rights to Ron Low and a third-round vote in the 1979 draft. After 16 games, the Capitals sent him to the Cleveland Barons in December of the same year and received Bob Girard and a second-round vote in the 1978 draft. The Barons However, set at the end of the season the game operations and merged with the Minnesota North Stars, who had no use for McKechnie and therefore transferred him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in October 1978 in exchange for a third-round vote in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft . With the Maple Leafs, who had originally selected him in the draft, the center increased his personal statistics again significantly to 61 points and took part in the playoffs for the second and last time of his career. For another third-round suffrage in the 1980 draft, he came to the Colorado Rockies in March 1980 . This did not extend his contract after the 1980/81 season, so he returned as a free agent to the Detroit Red Wings and spent the last two years of his NHL career there.
End of career
In the 1983/84 season he let his active career with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles end in the CHL and then ended his career. McKechnie has played a total of 970 NHL games, scoring 221 goals and 397 assists for 618 points. Despite this clearly above-average offensive performance, the attacker played almost exclusively for teams in the lower sporting third of the league and only took part in the playoffs twice with his eight NHL teams. In addition, he was later briefly (1986-1988) as a scout for the New York Rangers, but did not pursue this career.
Achievements and Awards
- 1968 Western Hockey League rookie of the year
Career statistics
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
season | team | league | Sp | T | V | Pt | +/- | SM | Sp | T | V | Pt | +/- | SM | ||
1965/66 | London Nationals | OHA | 46 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 68 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
1966/67 | London Nationals | OHA | 48 | 13 | 46 | 59 | 125 | 6th | 7th | 10 | 17th | 2 | ||||
1967/68 | London Nationals | OHA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
1967/68 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 67 | 24 | 30th | 54 | 24 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
1967/68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 4th | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +4 | 0 | ||
1968/69 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 10 | 3 | 11 | 14th | 6th | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
1968/69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 58 | 5 | 9 | 14th | -10 | 22nd | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1969/70 | Iowa stars | CHL | 42 | 17th | 24 | 41 | 82 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 18th | ||||
1969/70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 20th | 1 | 3 | 4th | -5 | 21st | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1970/71 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 35 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 28 | 8th | 2 | 4th | 6th | 10 | ||||
1970/71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 30th | 3 | 1 | 4th | –9 | 34 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1971/72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 56 | 11 | 20th | 31 | ± 0 | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1972/73 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 78 | 16 | 38 | 54 | -24 | 58 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1973/74 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 63 | 23 | 29 | 52 | -15 | 14th | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1974/75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 3 | 3 | 6th | –6 | 8th | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1974/75 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 23 | 6th | 11 | 17th | -3 | 6th | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1975/76 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 26th | 56 | 82 | +8 | 85 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1976/77 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 25th | 34 | 59 | -24 | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1977/78 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 16 | 4th | 1 | 5 | -14 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1977/78 | Cleveland Barons | NHL | 53 | 12 | 22nd | 34 | –6 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1978/79 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 79 | 25th | 36 | 61 | +21 | 18th | 6th | 4th | 3 | 7th | +4 | 9 | ||
1979/80 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 54 | 7th | 36 | 43 | –6 | 4th | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1979/80 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 17th | 0 | 4th | 4th | -15 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1980/81 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 53 | 15th | 23 | 38 | -8th | 18th | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1981/82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 74 | 18th | 37 | 55 | -2 | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1982/83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 14th | 29 | 43 | +2 | 42 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
1983/84 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | CHL | 69 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 36 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
OHA total | 95 | 26th | 74 | 100 | 195 | 6th | 7th | 10 | 17th | 2 | ||||||
WHL overall | 77 | 27 | 41 | 68 | 30th | 4th | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
CHL total | 111 | 26th | 56 | 82 | 118 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 18th | ||||||
NHL overall | 955 | 214 | 392 | 606 | -119 | 469 | 15th | 7th | 5 | 12 | +8 | 9 |
International
Represented Canada to:
year | team | event | result | Sp | T | V | Pt | SM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Canada | WM | 4th Place | 10 | 1 | 6th | 7th | 28 | |
Men overall | 10 | 1 | 6th | 7th | 28 |
( 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 )
Web links
- Walt McKechnie in the database of the National Hockey League (English)
- Walt McKechnie at eliteprospects.com (English)
- Walt McKechnie at legendsofhockey.net (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | McKechnie, Walt |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McKechnie, Walter Thomas John (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian ice hockey player |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 19, 1947 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | London , Ontario , Canada |