Don Head (ice Hockey)
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Donald Charles Head (born June 30, 1933) 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 ...
player. He played 38 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 ...
with the
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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
during the 1961–62 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1953 to 1971, was spent in the senior Ontario Hockey Association and the
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
. Head also played for the Canadian national team at the
1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...
, winning a silver medal.


Playing career


Amateur career

Head, a
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 ...
, played junior hockey for 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 ...
where he won the
Dave Pinkney Trophy The Dave Pinkney Trophy is awarded to the goaltenders of the Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey ...
for an outstanding goaltender in the 1952-53 season. He was the goalie for the Canadian ice hockey team at the
1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...
in Squaw Valley, California, which was expected to take home the gold medals, but settled for silver behind the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Professional career

Following the Olympics, Head signed with the expansion
Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena (Oregon), Portland ...
of the
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
. The Buckaroos would go on to win the league championship, and Head was named to the league all-star team and was chosen the league's rookie of the year and outstanding goalkeeper. He was among the very few goalies who did not wear a helmet in a game. The next year, Head was called up to 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 ...
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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
but did not fare as well, winning only 9 of the 38 games he played as the Bruins finished last in the league. He returned to the WHL and won two more outstanding goalkeeper awards with the Buckaroos and was named to two more all-star teams. He also played for the
Seattle Totems The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League (1952–1974), Western Hockey ...
before ending his career with the Buckaroos in 1975, the same year the franchise folded.


Legacy

Head was named to the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...
in 1993.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


International


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Don 1933 births Living people Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from Toronto Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Canada Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players People from York, Toronto Portland Buckaroos players Seattle Totems (WHL) players Toronto Marlboros players Windsor Bulldogs (OHA) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen