Glen Wesley

Glen Wesley
Glen Wesley
	Wesley with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006
Born	October 2, 1968 (age 55); Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins; Hartford Whalers; Carolina Hurricanes; Toronto Maple Leafs
National team	Canada
NHL draft	3rd overall, 1987; Boston Bruins
Playing career	1987–2008
Representing Canada
World Championships

Glen Edwin Wesley (born October 2, 1968) is a Canadian-American former ice hockey defenceman. Wesley played 13 seasons for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. He began his career with the Boston Bruins, and briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wesley played in four Stanley Cup Finals, winning it once in 2006. He was the Hurricanes' director of development for defensemen, and announced his departure on June 12, 2018. As of August 28, 2018 he now works as a development coach for the St. Louis Blues.

Playing career

Wesley was drafted 3rd overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft from the Portland Winter Hawks, appearing in 202 regular season games over 3+ seasons, scoring 49 goals and 175 assists for 224 points.

Wesley began his NHL career with the Boston Bruins, whom he played for from 1987 to 1994. He earned a berth on the 1988 All-Rookie team. He reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice with the Bruins, in 1988 and 1990, though the Bruins lost both series to the Edmonton Oilers. As a rookie in the 1988 Finals, Wesley scored two goals in Game Four, a contest which would eventually be suspended due to power failure at Boston Garden.^[1] His dramatic last-minute goal in Game Five of the 1990 playoffs against Montreal would help the Bruins reach the Finals for the second time in three years.^[2]

Prior to the start of the 1994-95 season, Wesley was traded to the Hartford Whalers for their first-round draft picks in 1995, 1996, and 1997. With the picks, the Bruins drafted Kyle McLaren (1995), Johnathan Aitken (1996) and Sergei Samsonov (1997), the latter of whom was Wesley's teammate in his final year in the NHL.^[3]

Wesley moved with the Whalers to Carolina in 1997 and quickly became a leader. In 2002, he reached the Stanley Cup Finals for a third time. In March 2003, nearing the trade deadline, he was traded from Carolina to Toronto, joining the Maple Leafs for the rest of the 2002–2003 season in an effort for both teams to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. He re-signed with the Hurricanes at the end of the season. He got his fourth trip to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. This would be Wesley's third time playing against the Oilers. Wesley won his first Stanley Cup on June 19, 2006 with the Hurricanes, defeating Edmonton in seven games, which is his childhood favorite team. When he won this, he ended one of the longest streaks for active players who had not yet won a Stanley Cup. Wesley played two more seasons with the Hurricanes before retiring, leaving him as the only player to have played in each of the Hurricanes' first 10 seasons since the team relocated to North Carolina.^[4]

On June 5, 2008 Wesley announced his retirement after his 20th NHL season, and his 10th with the Carolina Hurricanes.^[4] He remains in the Hurricanes organization as Director of Defensemen Development. The Hurricanes retired Wesley's No. 2 jersey February 17, 2009, against the Boston Bruins, who Wesley began his NHL career with. Wesley was the only player to don #2 with the Hurricanes, as the number was previously retired by the Hartford Whalers in honor of Rick Ley. When the franchise relocated, Wesley changed his number from #20 to #2, marking the distinction of the number being retired by the same franchise for two different players in two different cities.

International play

Wesley has represented Canada twice, In 1987, he was involved in the infamous Punch-up in Piestany.

Personal life

Wesley and his wife, Barb, have three children, Amanda, Josh and Matthew. His son Josh was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and was playing for the AHL's Utica Comets as of April 2021.^[5]

Wesley lived in Danvers, Massachusetts in the early 1990s while a member of the Bruins and Avon, Connecticut from 1994 until 1997 before settling in Cary, North Carolina. The Wesley family resides in Park City, Utah.

Wesley, a resident of the United States since he played junior hockey, became an American citizen in 2005. As part of his day with the Stanley Cup, Wesley took the trophy to Camp Lejeune.

Awards and achievements

Named Western Hockey League Western Conference Defenceman of the Year 1985–86 and 1986–87
WHL West First All-Star Team – 1986 & 1987
Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1988.
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1989)
Member of Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
Had his number 2 retired by the Carolina Hurricanes on February 17, 2009.^[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983–84	Red Deer Rustlers	AJHL	57	9	20	29	40	—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL	3	1	2	3	0	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL	67	16	52	68	76	6	1	6	7	8
1985–86	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL	69	16	75	91	96	15	3	11	14	29
1985–86	Portland Winter Hawks	MC	—	—	—	—	—	4	0	2	2	4
1986–87	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL	63	16	46	62	72	20	8	18	26	27
1987–88	Boston Bruins	NHL	79	7	30	37	69	23	6	8	14	22
1988–89	Boston Bruins	NHL	77	19	35	54	61	10	0	2	2	4
1989–90	Boston Bruins	NHL	78	9	27	36	48	21	2	6	8	36
1990–91	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	11	32	43	78	19	2	9	11	19
1991–92	Boston Bruins	NHL	78	9	37	46	54	15	2	4	6	15
1992–93	Boston Bruins	NHL	64	8	25	33	47	4	0	0	0	0
1993–94	Boston Bruins	NHL	81	14	44	58	64	13	3	3	6	12
1994–95	Hartford Whalers	NHL	48	2	14	16	50	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Hartford Whalers	NHL	68	8	16	24	88	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Hartford Whalers	NHL	68	8	26	32	40	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	82	6	19	25	36	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	74	7	17	24	44	6	0	1	1	2
1999–2000	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	78	7	15	22	38	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	71	5	16	21	42	6	0	0	0	0
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	77	5	13	18	56	22	0	2	2	12
2002–03	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	63	1	7	8	40	—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	7	0	3	3	4	5	0	1	1	2
2003–04	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	74	0	6	6	32	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	64	2	8	10	46	25	0	2	2	16
2006–07	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	68	1	12	13	56	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	78	1	7	8	52	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			1,457	128	409	537	1,045	169	15	38	53	141

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987	Canada	WJC	DQ	6	2	1	3	4
1996	Canada	WC		8	0	1	1	4
Junior totals				6	2	1	3	4
Senior totals				8	0	1	1	4

References

^ K.P. Wee (October 2015). The End of the Montreal Jinx: Boston's Short-Lived Glory in the Historic Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry, 1988-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 46. ISBN 978-1517362911.
^ K.P. Wee (October 2015). The End of the Montreal Jinx: Boston's Short-Lived Glory in the Historic Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry, 1988-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 84. ISBN 978-1517362911.
^ Droschak, David (2 February 2009). "Glen Wesley Tribute - Part 1: The Trade". NHL.com.
^ ^a ^b "Original Hurricane Glen Wesley retires after 20 years". USA Today. 5 June 2008.
^ "Josh Wesley Stats and Player Profile". American Hockey League.
^ "Hurricanes honor Wesley, retire No. 2". NHL.com. Associated Press. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-17.