Wayne Joseph Babych (born June 6, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers. He is the older brother of former NHL player Dave Babych. He is of Ukrainian ancestry.[1]
| Wayne Babych | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Babych in 2005 | |||
| Born |
June 6, 1958 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
St. Louis Blues Pittsburgh Penguins Quebec Nordiques Hartford Whalers | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft |
3rd overall, 1978 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 1978–1987 | ||
Babych played his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Canada Hockey League before being drafted 3rd overall by St. Louis in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. A skilled winger, he netted 20 or more goals four times in seven full NHL seasons. In 1980–81, Babych become the first 50-goal scorer in Blues franchise history. His 54 goals stood as the Blues single season record until Brett Hull's 72 goal campaign in 1989–90. Babych, Hull and Brendan Shanahan are the only players in Blues history to record 50 goal seasons.
He is now living in the Winnipeg, Manitoba area.
Babych is slated to be inducted into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame in January, 2025 along with Jim Roberts and Curtis Joseph.[2]
Career statistics
edit| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1973–74 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Edmonton Mets | AJHL | 56 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 68 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 157 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 61 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 98 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 23 | ||
| 1976–77 | Portland Winter Hawks | WCHL | 71 | 50 | 62 | 112 | 76 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 1977–78 | Portland Winter Hawks | WCHL | 68 | 50 | 71 | 121 | 218 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 19 | ||
| 1978–79 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 67 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 59 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 49 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 54 | 42 | 96 | 93 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1981–82 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 51 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 51 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1982–83 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 71 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 70 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 52 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1984–85 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 65 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 15 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 37 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 59 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 78 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 519 | 192 | 246 | 438 | 498 | 41 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 24 | ||||
| WCHL totals | 269 | 151 | 197 | 348 | 549 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 52 | ||||
Awards
edit- WCHL First All-Star Team – 1977 & 1978
See also
editReferences
editExternal links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database