Brett Charles Callighen (born May 15, 1953) is a Canadian retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

who played 213 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA), followed by 160 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He played for the

New England Whalers New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and

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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. He was

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

's first regular left winger.

Playing career

Callighen was playing with the Oilers when they were one of the four WHA teams to move into the NHL for the

1979–80 NHL season The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers ...

. On October 14, 1979, Callighen along with

Blair MacDonald Blair Neil Joseph "B. J." MacDonald (born November 17, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1983. He featured in the 1979 WHA Final with ...

assisted on Gretzky's first NHL goal. During that season, on 24 February, Callighen suffered an injury to his left eye when it was clipped by

Brad McCrimmon Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959 – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, ...

's stick, causing Callighen to miss the remainder of that season. Callighen had repeated surgeries, but was declared legally blind in that eye. He played in only portions of the Oilers' 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons, followed by a few games over the next four years with top-tier European teams

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

and Vienna EV and AHL team

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nati ...

Hockey agent

Upon retiring from hockey, Callighen began working as a hockey agent, co-running Optima World Sports with former Oilers teammate

Ron Chipperfield Ronald James Chipperfield (born March 28, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who served as the Edmonton Oilers' first National Hockey League (NHL) captain. He played for the Oilers in both the World Hockey Association (WHA) ...

, sending players to Europe and Asia, including

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. His clientele over the years have included

Curtis Brown Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Background Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Carolin ...

Mark Hartigan Mark Hartigan (born October 15, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played in the National Hockey League with the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings. He currently resides i ...

Todd Warriner Todd Eaton Warriner (born January 3, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Over the course of his career, Warriner played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelph ...

Jon Sim Jonathan Sim (born September 29, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the third round (70th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. ...

, Matt Higgins,

Brad Fast Bradley M. Fast (born February 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He spent his amateur career in the British Columbia Hockey League, and was selected in the third round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 84th overall, by ...

and Jeff Toms among others.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Callighen, Brett 1953 births Living people 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Adirondack Red Wings players Canadian ice hockey forwards Dallas Black Hawks players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Edmonton Oilers players HC Lugano players Ice hockey people from Toronto New England Whalers players Undrafted National Hockey League players Ice hockey agents Canadian sports agents