John Gilbert Brereton Wright (born November 9, 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who played 127 games over three seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

in the 1970s with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

, and

Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where t ...

. Prior to turning professional Wright spent four years at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and also briefly played in the minor

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

before retiring in 1975.

Amateur career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Wright was selected 4th overall in the

1966 NHL Amateur Draft The 1966 NHL Amateur Draft was the fourth NHL Entry Draft. It held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Listed below are the selections in the 1966 NHL amateur draft. Round one Round two Round three Round ...

by his hometown

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

after dominating local Junior B ranks. The following season, he joined the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

, where he would play with a host of future NHL stars, including

Brad Park Douglas Bradford "Brad" Park (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A defenceman, Park played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. Considered to be on ...

Brian Glennie Brian "Blunt" Glennie (August 29, 1946 – February 7, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1969 until 1979. Glennie was a master of the hip-check. Amateur career Glennie was ...

and

Gerry Meehan Gerald Marcus Meehan (born September 3, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and the former general manager and Senior Vice President of the Buffalo Sabres. Playing career Meehan was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised ...

. In his rookie season, Wright helped lead the Marlboros to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

as Canada's top junior team, scoring 5 points in 9 games in the final tournament. The following season, he emerged as one of the team's top players, registering 64 points in 54 games. However, rather than turn professional at the conclusion of his junior career, Wright chose instead to attend the

, where he would pursue a degree in Health and Physical Education. During his time with the

Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team operated by the Varsity Blues athletics program of the University of Toronto. They are members of the Ontario University Athletics conference and compete in U Sports. The Varsi ...

, he would establish himself as one of the top players in CIAU history. The team would win 4 consecutive CIAU University Cup championships during his time there, with Wright becoming the only (as of 2021) player to be a two-time winner of the national tournament's Most Valuable Player award (1969, 1972). He was honoured as a CIAU All-Canadian in 1969 and 1972, and captained the Blues during his final two seasons. Wright was also a member of the university's golf team, and in 1994 was elected to the University of Toronto

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

for his athletic achievements during his time there.

Professional career

Wright had been drafted away from the Maple Leafs by the

in 1970, and joined the team in 1972 at the conclusion of his university career. Wright made the team as a rookie, and put together a fine 1972–73 season, finishing with 10 goals and 37 points in 71 games. This placed him 5th on the team in assists and 8th in scoring, and his 27 assists were at the time the most ever by a rookie Canuck forward. However, Wright would get off to a sluggish start in 1973–74 with just 6 points in his first 20 games, and was dealt to the

for

Mike Lampman Michael David Lampman (born April 20, 1950) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player. Lampman played four seasons for the University of Denver, and was selected in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Blues. Making ...

. His offensive struggles would continue in St. Louis, and he finished the season with 6 goals and 15 points in 52 games between Vancouver and St. Louis. The following summer, Wright was selected by the

in the

1974 NHL Expansion Draft The 1974 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 12, 1974. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 1974–75 season, the Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitals. Rules Draft results See also ...

. However, he would play only 4 games for the Scouts, instead spending almost the entire season with their farm squad in the AHL. Following the season, he chose to retire from professional hockey. Wright finished his career with 16 goals and 52 points, along with 67 PIM, in 127 NHL games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John 1948 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Kansas City Scouts players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Providence Reds players Ice hockey people from Toronto St. Louis Blues players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Varsity Blues ice hockey players Vancouver Canucks players