Ed Westfall
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Edwin Vernon "Shadow" Westfall (born September 19, 1940 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders from 1961 until 1978–79. Notable as a defensive specialist often tasked with defending against the star scorers of enemy teams, Westfall played most of his career as a right wing, although he played stints on defense in his earlier years and at center in his later years.
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[edit] Playing career
He played his junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers & Niagara Falls Flyers, and started his professional career with the Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) team. By 1961 he joined the Bruins, although he had stints the next two years with the Frontenacs and the AHL's Providence Reds. By 1966, he was firmly ensconced on Boston's checking line,
Westfall won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1970 and 1972. He earned an assist on Bobby Orr's famous Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1970 and also scored the second of the three fastest goals in NHL history, when the Bruins scored three goals in 20 seconds in a 1971 game with the Vancouver Canucks. During those seasons he made his reputation as a preeminent penalty killer (generally paired with center Derek Sanderson or winger Don Marcotte), enough so that he was named to play in the All-Star Game in 1971, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
Westfall was chosen by the brand new New York Islanders in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft. He was subsequently made the first captain of the team, a position he held until 1977. Westfall scored the first goal in franchise history, in their first game, against the Atlanta Flames, on October 7, 1972. His best season statistically was the 1975, when Westfall led the Islanders into their first playoffs and all the way into the Stanley Cup semifinals, exploding in the playoffs with five goals and ten assists to cap a 22-goal, 55-point regular season.
He remained an effective scorer through the 1977 season, in which he was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication, after which he relinquished the team captaincy to Clark Gillies. His scoring declined sharply in his final two seasons, during which he spent his time on checking lines and penalty killing.
[edit] Retirement
Westfall retired having played 1226 career NHL games, scoring 231 goals and 394 assists for 625 points.
After the end of his playing days, Westfall became the Islanders color analyst for what was then known as SportsChannel. He was often dubbed "18" by his confidant and broadcasting partner "Jiggs" McDonald because during his playing career he wore that number. He was also known by that nickname by his former Islander teammates. Westfall continued in that position until he retired in 1998. His spot in the broadcast booth was taken by former NHL player Joe Micheletti. He made occasional appearances on Islander broadcasts for several seasons after that.
He is currently working for The Corporate Relocator moving firm as a Relationship Coordinator.
[edit] Career statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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1957-58 Barrie Flyers OHA 51 3 10 13 0
1959-60 Barrie Flyers OHA 48 7 28 35 0
1959-60 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 1 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
1960-61 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 48 9 45 54 0
1960-61 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
1961-62 Boston Bruins NHL 63 2 9 11 53 -- -- -- -- --
1962-63 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 21 5 16 21 14 -- -- -- -- --
1962-63 Boston Bruins NHL 48 1 11 12 34 -- -- -- -- --
1963-64 Providence Reds AHL 13 1 3 4 8 3 0 0 0 4
1963-64 Boston Bruins NHL 55 1 5 6 35 -- -- -- -- --
1964-65 Boston Bruins NHL 68 12 15 27 65 -- -- -- -- --
1965-66 Boston Bruins NHL 59 9 21 30 42 -- -- -- -- --
1966-67 Boston Bruins NHL 70 12 24 36 26 -- -- -- -- --
1967-68 Boston Bruins NHL 73 14 22 36 38 4 2 0 2 2
1968-69 Boston Bruins NHL 70 18 24 42 22 10 3 7 10 11
1969-70 Boston Bruins NHL 72 14 22 36 28 14 3 5 8 4
1970-71 Boston Bruins NHL 78 25 34 59 48 7 1 2 3 2
1971-72 Boston Bruins NHL 77 18 26 44 19 15 4 3 7 10
1972-73 New York Islanders NHL 67 15 31 46 25 -- -- -- -- --
1973-74 New York Islanders NHL 68 19 23 42 28 -- -- -- -- --
1974-75 New York Islanders NHL 73 22 33 55 28 17 5 10 15 12
1975-76 New York Islanders NHL 80 25 31 56 27 8 2 3 5 0
1976-77 New York Islanders NHL 79 14 33 47 8 12 1 5 6 0
1977-78 New York Islanders NHL 71 5 19 24 14 2 0 0 0 0
1978-79 New York Islanders NHL 55 5 11 16 4 6 1 2 3 0
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NHL Totals 1226 231 394 625 544 95 22 37 59 41
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by new creation |
New York Islanders captains 1972-77 |
Succeeded by Clark Gillies |
