1973-74 O-Pee-Chee 31 Wayne Stephenson Hockey Card (Front)
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Card Notes
Wayne won 18 games for the Blues last season as a rookie. Previously, he played just two games in the NHL. The Blues signed Wayne out of the amateur ranks midway through the 1971-72 season, and turned him pro with Kansas City of the Central League.
En Français
Comme recrue l’an dernier, il gagna 18 parties pour les Blues. Auparavant, il n’avait joué que deux parties dans la LNH. Il fut engagé par les Blues au milieu de la saison 1971-72 alors qu’il était amateur; il devint professionnel avec Kansas Cit de la L. Centrale.
Details
Previous to being signed by the St. Louis Blues during the 1971-72 season, Wayne Stephenson was with the Canadian National Team program. He competed for Canada at the 1967 and 1969 World Championships and at the 1968 Olympic Games.
Canada took bronze at the 1967 Worlds, held in Vienna, Austria. In 1969, Canada dropped to fourth place. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden. The Soviet Union won gold in both 1967 and 1969. At the 1968 Winter Olympics, held in Grenoble, France, Wayne helped his country to a bronze. The Soviet Union again was the gold medal winner.
The initial two NHL games mentioned that Stephenson played in 1971-72 did not go particularly well. In his first NHL game, played on January 30, 1972 at Boston Garden against the Bruins, Wayne allowed five goals on 26 shots in a 5-2 loss. Boston was powered by Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson. The two combined for ten shots and six points, including a shorthanded goal each on the same penalty kill.
In his second, a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers on February 5, 1972 at the St. Louis Arena, Stephenson allowed four goals on just 15 shots and was pulled after the second period. Ernie Wakely came in for the third, stopping eight of nine and earning the comeback win.
Included in his 18 wins in 1972-73 was his first of 14 NHL shutouts. In the third game of the season, a November 11, 1972 home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Stephenson stopped all 30 shots, including seven off the stick of Dave Keon. Garry Unger scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory. Jacques Plante did an admirable job in net for the Leafs, stopping 31 of 32.
Stephenson played 328 regular season and 26 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1971-72 and 1980-81. St. Louis traded Wayne to the Philadelphia Flyers before the start of the 1974-75 season and he had the honour of backing up Bernie Parent for Philly’s second consecutive run to a Stanley Cup championship. He also spent two years with the Washington Capitals at the end of his NHL career.