Willi Plett (born June 7, 1955) is a

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

-born

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 ...

right winger who played 834 games in the

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

(NHL) for the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

. He was a fifth-round selection of the Atlanta Flames in the

1975 NHL Amateur Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

, 80th overall. Plett was a member of the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

' Adams Cup championship team in 1975–76 and won the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

in 1977 as the NHL's top rookie. He transferred with the Flames franchise to Calgary in 1980 and a 1982 trade sent him to Minnesota where he played five seasons. Plett retired in 1988 following one season in Boston.

Early life

Plett was born into a "Russian" Mennonite family who had lived in the Soviet Union and then Germany and fled to South America to escape the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. They settled in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, Paraguay, where he was born on June 7, 1955. His family moved to Canada one year later, settling in

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of O ...

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 ...

. Plett first played organized hockey at the age of 12 and played

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

near his hometown. He played three years in the St. Catharines Black Hawks system, but left the team midway through the 1974–75 Ontario Major Junior Hockey League season following a dispute with coach Hap Emms, joining the tier II

Niagara Falls Flyers The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982. ...

. His playing style was comparable to a modern power forward, as Plett combined scoring ability with physical play and a willingness to

fight Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

. The

selected him with their fifth round selection, 80th overall, at the

Playing career

The Flames assigned Plett to their minor league affiliate, the

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which oper ...

(CHL), for the 1975–76 season where he developed under the team's coach, and former NHL enforcer,

Orland Kurtenbach Orland John Kurtenbach (born September 7, 1936) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. A centre notable for his defensive skill and as one of the toughest fighters in the game, he played for several National Hockey League ...

. He scored 30 goals in 73 games, added 163

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

, and helped the Oilers win the Adams Cup as CHL champions. Plett also made his NHL debut during the season, appearing in four games with the Flames. Plett was returned to Tulsa to begin the 1976–77 season where he scored 12 points in 14 games. He spent the majority of the campaign in Atlanta, appearing in 64 games with the Flames. He scored 33 goals and 23 assists for the Flames, enough to win the

as the NHL's rookie of the year. He scored 22 goals in 1977–78 and 23 in 1978–79 and amassed nearly 400 penalty minutes over those two seasons as he established a reputation as an enforcer who could also score. Plett scored only 13 goals in 1979–80, but set a Flames' franchise record with 231 penalty minutes. Plett transferred with the franchise when it relocated to Canada to become the

in 1980–81. Playing on the Flames' top

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

alongside

Kent Nilsson Kent Åke "Kenta" Nilsson (born 31 August 1956) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Winnipeg Jets, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta and Calgary Flame ...

and

Guy Chouinard Guy Camil Chouinard (born October 20, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the 1970s and 80's for the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, and St. Louis Blues. He has also had a lengthy career as a coach in the QMJH ...

, Plett enjoyed his greatest season statistically, setting career highs with 38 goals, 68 points and 239 penalty minutes. He established himself as a fan favourite in Calgary, and shared the team playoff scoring lead with Bob MacMillan with eight goals as the Flames reached the semi-finals of the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

playoffs. His offensive production fell to 21 goals in 1981–82, a season in which Plett became an outspoken critic of head coach

Al MacNeil Allister Wences MacNeil (born September 27, 1935) is a former National Hockey League player and coach. He was the first native of Atlantic Canada to serve as a head coach in the NHL. Career He played parts of eleven seasons in the National Hockey ...

. The Flames replaced MacNeil as coach following the season, but also chose to trade Plett in a June 7, 1982 trade. He was sent to the

in exchange for Steve Christoff and

Bill Nyrop William Donald Nyrop (July 23, 1952 – December 31, 1995) was a professional ice hockey player who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Nyrop, ser ...

, both teams also exchanged draft picks. The NHL suspended Plett for eight games early in his first season with the North Stars after he was given a match penalty for slashing

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

goaltender

Greg Stefan Gregory Steven Stefan (born February 11, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League. ...

in the head. He scored 25 goals on the season but he recorded 19 fewer points than the year before and his 170 penalty minutes was his lowest total since his rookie season. He scored only 15 goals and 38 points in 1983–84 and quarreled with coach

Bill Mahoney William Mahoney (June 23, 1939 – December 16, 2021) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He was head coach of the Minnesota North Stars from 1983 to 1985. Born in Peterborough, Ontario, he was a star multi-sport athlete. In addition to playing ho ...

over playing time. Plett received more time after the two resolved their differences and he re-focused on the physical side of his game which had been lacking in the previous few seasons. He finished the season with a career high 319 penalty minutes. Plett was dogged by injuries in his following three seasons, missing time due to a groin injury and injuring his shoulders on several occasions. His offensive production decreased each year, falling to 11 points by 1986–87. The North Stars traded Plett to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

, in exchange for Pat Price, on September 7, 1987. He never played a game for New York, however, as the

took him in the waiver draft prior to the season's start. Plett appeared in 65 games for the Bruins in 1987–88, scoring two goals, five points and recording 170 penalty minutes. He appeared in 17 playoff games, scoring six points, as the Bruins reached the

1988 Stanley Cup Finals The 1988 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins. The Oilers ...

before losing to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. Plett retired following the season.

Personal life

Plett returned to the Atlanta area following his retirement. He opened Willi Plett's Sports Park, now out of business, a golf course and theme park in

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 33,039 as of 2019 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. ...

. Afterwards, he worked at his son's landscaping business.

Career statistics

References

*Career statistics:

External links