Barry Wilkins
| Barry Wilkins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 28, 1947 Toronto, ON, CAN |
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| Died | June 26, 2011 (aged 64) Chandler, Arizona, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins Vancouver Canucks Pittsburgh Penguins Edmonton Oilers (WHA) |
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| Playing career | 1967–1976 | ||
Barry James Wilkins (February 28, 1947 – June 26, 2011) was a professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for scoring the first-ever goal for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL on October 9, 1970. Wilkins was born in Toronto, Ontario and died at the age of 64 from lung cancer.
Wilkins was signed by the Boston Bruins as a teenager and came through their junior system where he was a teammate of Bobby Orr and Wayne Cashman with the Oshawa Generals. He was recalled from junior to make his NHL debut in 1966–67, playing a single game for the Bruins, and turned pro the following season. He would spend most of the next three seasons with the Oklahoma City Blazers, Boston's top minor-league affiliate, but found it difficult to crack an increasingly deep Bruin roster. He scored his first NHL goal in his only appearance during the 1968–69 season, and appeared in 6 games for the 1969–70 Bruin team which would ultimately win the Stanley Cup.
By the 1969–70 season, Wilkins was a dominant defender in the CHL with Oklahoma City, finishing the year with 52 points and 204 penalty minutes, and he would receive his big break when he was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft. He started his Canuck career with a bang, scoring the team's first-ever goal (one of only five he scored all season) in their first game, against the Los Angeles Kings on October 9, 1970.
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