Robert Briton Selby (born March 27, 1945) is a Canadian former 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 ...

left winger who played 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) for the

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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

and St. Louis Blues from 1965 to 1971. He also played 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) for the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

, New England Whalers and

Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 WHA season, 19 ...

from 1972 to 1975.

Playing career

Selby started his hockey career with the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

in the OHA where he played five seasons. Selby got his first taste of a championship win in 1963–64, when the Marlboros swept the Edmonton Oil Kings in 4 games to win their fourth

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

. In 1964–65, Selby was called up by the

to replace injured forward Ron Ellis in the

NHL 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 ...

. He played 3 games with the Leafs, scoring 2 goals. Selby scored his first NHL goal against the

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

' Jacques Plante in his first NHL game. Ellis would return and the Leafs sent Selby back down to the juniors. The following season, Selby had a full-time roster spot with the Leafs. Selby scored a total of 27 points in his rookie season and was awarded 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 ...

, for best rookie of the season. His total of 27 points is the lowest scoring total by a Calder-winning forward since 1937–38. Struggling early on the next season, the Leafs sent Selby down to the minors to play with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

in the WHL. He played 15 games before injuring his leg, sidelining him out for the remainder of the year. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, the NHL expanded by introducing 6 new teams. Selby was claimed by the

in the

Expansion Draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

. During his first year with the Flyers, Selby set career highs in goals, assists, and points. The Flyers traded Selby back to his old team, the Maple Leafs, in 1968–69. Selby spent one season with the Leafs, before being traded again, this time to the St. Louis Blues. His stay with the Blues would be short however, as he was sent down to the minors with the Kansas City Blues. In 1972–73, a newly formed league, the

was created. Selby was selected in the WHA General Player Draft by the Houston Aeros. Seeing an opportunity to jump out of the minors, Selby took it and signed on with the Aeros. Before even playing a game with the Aeros, he was immediately traded to the

. After playing only 7 games with the Nordiques, he was quickly traded to the Philadelphia Blazers, who in turn traded him to the New England Whalers. He spent 63 games with the Whalers, winning the Avco World Trophy, the WHA championship. In 1973–74, he was traded to the

, where he would retire.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Selby became a history teacher at

North Toronto Collegiate Institute North Toronto Collegiate Institute is a semestered, public high school institution with over 1,200 students located in North Toronto area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is operated and governed by the Toronto District School Board. Fro ...

, from which he retired in 2010.

Awards and achievements

champion in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

winner in 1966 * Avco World Trophy champion in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selby, Brit 1945 births Living people Calder Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of English descent Kansas City Blues (ice hockey) players New England Whalers players Philadelphia Flyers players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen St. Louis Blues players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players Toronto Toros players Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players