Carl David Wetzel (born December 12, 1938) is an American 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who played 7 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 ...

for the

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

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 ...

between 1964 and 1968. He also played 1 game 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 ...

with the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976 ...

during the 1972–73 season. Internationally Wetzel played for the American national team at the

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 ...

and 1971 World Championships.

Playing career

In November 1957, as an 18-year-old, Wetzel played in relief of John Henderson for the

Whitby Dunlops The Whitby Dunlops were a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the Allan Cup Hockey league. The team began play in 2004, and is on a leave of absence as of the 2020–21 season. Two previous teams have also played as the Whitby Dunlops. The firs ...

against the reigning Olympic gold medalist Soviet national team at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

. This was the first time the Russians played in Canada, and Wetzel backstopped the Dunlops to a 7–2 victory. The Dunlops team featured

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of ...

Charlie Burns Charles Frederick Burns (February 14, 1936 – November 5, 2021) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pi ...

, and Sid Smith. At the time, Wetzel was the goalie for the

Hamilton Tiger Cubs The Hamilton Tiger Cubs were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1953 to 1960. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario. History The Hamilton juniors which they were called initially in the early part of 195 ...

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. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

and played against the Dunlops before the game against the Russians. Whitby's coach, Wren Blair, took note of Wetzel's play, and upon a knee injury suffered by Whitby goaltender John Henderson, coach Blair called upon Wetzel to represent Canada against the Soviet Union. It was during the season with the Tiger Cubs that Wetzel also played in the OHA all-star game against

Denis DeJordy Joseph Denis Emile DeJordy (born November 15, 1938), is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played goal for four National Hockey League teams, most notably the Chicago Black Hawks. In 1966–67, he and Glenn Hall won the Vezina T ...

Chico Maki Ronald Patrick "Chico" Maki (August 17, 1939 – August 24, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Maki played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Chicago Black Hawks, starting in the 1960–61 NHL season, and retiring after ...

, Matt Ravlich, Pat Stapleton, and John McKenzie, all of whom later played in the NHL. Wetzel played in the NHL during the

Original Six The Original Six () are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. ...

era with the

, where he competed as the starting goalie with

Roger Crozier Roger Allan Crozier (March 16, 1942 – January 11, 1996) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. During ...

in 1964, seeing action in two games. Wetzel was one of two Americans on an NHL roster during the season and was the only American goaltender. The other American on an NHL roster for the 1964–65 season was Tommy Williams, a right winger for the Boston Bruins. He later won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

, the championship of the minor

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

in 1967. Wetzel finished his major league career in 1972–73 with the

of the

after spending the previous season in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It c ...

with

EC Kitzbühel EC Kitzbuhel is a professional ice hockey team in Kitzbühel, Austria. History The club was founded in 1910. From 1965–1973, Kitzbuhel played in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, the top level of ice hockey in Austria. In their eight seasons there ...

. He would later serve as an assistant coach under

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach (ice hockey), coach. His most notable achievement came in Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning Un ...

with the Minnesota North Stars in 1987–88.

International play

Internationally, Wetzel was the starting goalie for the American national team at the 1967 World Championships in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was voted best goaltender of the tournament, an award earned by four other Americans in the history of the IIHF ( Don Rigazio, 1955;

Willard Ikola Willard John Ikola (July 28, 1932 – January 20, 2025) was a Finnish Americans, Finnish American ice hockey player and high school boys' hockey coach. Born in Eveleth, Minnesota, a powerhouse in hockey (owning seven state high school championsh ...

, 1956;

Jack McCartan John William McCartan (born August 5, 1935) is an American retired goaltender. He played for the American national team at the 1960 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal. He later played 12 games in the National Hockey League with the New York ...

, 1960; and Ty Conklin 2004). He also competed at the 1971 World Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzel, Carl 1938 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Austria American men's ice hockey goaltenders Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Detroit Red Wings players EC Kitzbühel players Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players Fort Wayne Komets players Houston Apollos players Ice hockey coaches from Michigan Ice hockey people from Detroit Memphis South Stars players Minnesota Fighting Saints players Minnesota North Stars coaches Minnesota North Stars players Pittsburgh Hornets players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Rochester Americans players Spokane Comets players Sudbury Wolves (EPHL) players