Ed Westfall

Ed Westfall
Born	September 19, 1940 Belleville, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Boston Bruins New York Islanders
Playing career	1961–1979

Edwin Vernon "Shadow" Westfall (born September 19, 1940) is a retired Canadian 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 defence in his earlier years and at centre in his later years. He is known for being on the ice and covering the right defence position for Bobby Orr when Orr scored his legendary flying goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals.

Playing career

He played his junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers & Niagara Falls Flyers,^[1] 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 was on the ice 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.^[2] During those seasons he made his reputation as a preeminent penalty killer (generally paired with centre 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.^[3]

Westfall was chosen by the brand new New York Islanders in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft.^[4] He was subsequently made the first captain of the team,^[5] a position he held until 1977. Westfall scored the first goal in franchise history^[6] 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.

Retirement

Westfall retired having played 1226 career NHL games, scoring 231 goals and 394 assists for 625 points.^[3]

After the end of his playing days, Westfall became the Islanders color analyst for what was then known as SportsChannel.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

On November 19, 2011, Westfall was inducted into the New York Islanders Hall of Fame. The Islanders held "Ed Westfall Night" in his honor. He and his former partner in the booth "Jiggs" McDonald called the second period in the game that night between two of his former teams, the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957–58	Barrie Flyers	OHA-Jr.		51	3	10	13	60		4	0	0	0	4
1958–59	Barrie Flyers	OHA-Jr.		54	4	10	14	63		6	0	4	4	2
1959–60	Barrie Flyers	OHA-Jr.		48	7	28	35	63		6	0	4	4	28
1959–60	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		1	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Barrie Flyers	OHA-Jr.		48	9	45	54	72		7	2	7	9	6
1960–61	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Boston Bruins	NHL		63	2	9	11	53		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Boston Bruins	NHL		48	1	11	12	34		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		21	5	16	21	14		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	Boston Bruins	NHL		55	1	5	6	35		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	Providence Reds	AHL		13	1	3	4	8		3	0	0	0	4
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
NHL totals				1226	231	394	625	544		95	22	37	59	41

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

1. Ray Spiteri. "Former Niagara Falls Flyer Ed Westfall returns to Honeymoon Capital this weekend". Retrieved 2010-04-22.
2. "Fastest three goals, one team". Rauzulu's Street.com. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
3. "Ed Vernon Westfall". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
4. "NYI Expansion Draft June 6, 1972". Isles Info.com. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
5. "Islanders of Yesteryear: Ed Westfall, '18'". Lighthouse Hockey.com. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
6. "Key Islander Dates". Islanders.NHL.com. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
7. George Vecsey (1986-03-30). "It Hasn't Been A Good Week For Athletes In The Booth". The Times News. Retrieved 2010-04-2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
8. "DUCKS NAME HARTSBURG COACH". NY Daily News.com. 1998-07-22. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
9. "The Corporate Relocator" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-22.

External links

• Ed Westfall's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database