John Wensink

Last updated
John Wensink
John Wensink.jpg
Born (1953-04-01) April 1, 1953 (age 71)
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins
Quebec Nordiques
Colorado Rockies
New Jersey Devils
National teamFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
NHL Draft 104th overall, 1973
St. Louis Blues
WHA Draft 28th overall, 1973
New York Golden Blades
Playing career 19731983

John Wensink (born April 1, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), most prominently with the Boston Bruins. Wensink played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins in 1977 and 1978.

Contents

Wensink grew up in Maxville, Ontario, the son of Dutch immigrants, and played for the Netherlands national ice hockey team in the 1989 World Championship.

Career

Wensink is best remembered for his time with the Boston Bruins, where he teamed with Terry O'Reilly and Stan Jonathan as the team's enforcers. On December 1, 1977, Wensink, after fighting Alex Pirus of the Minnesota North Stars, skated to the Minnesota bench and challenged the entire team, but no player responded. [1] Wensink is also well-known for the large afro that he sported on the ice. In another scrap with Bob Kelly, Wensink and Kelly were pulling at each other's hair.

Besides his skill as a fighter, Wensink could score as well. He had a career high 46 points in the 1978-79 season for the Bruins.

Wensink also played for the St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Rockies and the New Jersey Devils. He finished his career with the Nijmegen Tigers in the Dutch Eredivisie in 1984–85.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended, Wensink moved to St. Charles, Missouri, and started a home renovation company, [2] where he also plays senior hockey. Wensink has been active as a pee-wee hockey coach. [3] He is still active with the St. Louis Blues Alumni and the Boston Bruins Alumni hockey teams.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1970–71 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 5711617151
1971–72 Cornwall RoyalsQMJHL601022321691522464
1972–73 Cornwall RoyalsQMJHL52926352421616755
1973–74 St. Louis Blues NHL 30000
1973–74 Rochester Americans AHL 36628139500029
1974–75 Denver Spurs CHL 21381175
1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL23461032130338
1977–78 Boston BruinsNHL801620361811522454
1978–79 Boston BruinsNHL76281846108801119
1979–80 Boston BruinsNHL699112011040005
1980–81 Quebec Nordiques NHL5363912430000
1981–82 Colorado Rockies NHL57538152
1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL42279135
1982–83 Wichita Wind CHL710136
1984–85 Vissers Nijmegen NED 1415122739
NHL totals40370681388424326886

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1989 Netherlands WC-C 735810
Senior totals735810

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References

  1. Kamchen, Richard (31 March 2013). "Backchecking: Brad Maxwell". TheHockeyNews. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. Dupont, Kevin Paul (1 January 1995). "Ex-Players Can Understand Both NHL Sides". Deseret News. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. "Meet Me In St. Louis | USA Hockey Magazine". www.usahockeymagazine.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.