James Duncan Wiemer (born January 9, 1961) 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 ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...
who played for the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
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) between 1983 and 1993.
Hockey career
Wiemer began his path to the pros in
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...
with the
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...
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 League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
. He helped his team to the
1979 Memorial Cup
The 1979 Memorial Cup occurred May 6–13 at the Palais des Sports in Sherbrooke, Quebec, the Colisée de Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Quebec and at the Verdun Auditorium in Verdun, Quebec. It was the 61st annual Memorial Cup competiti ...
Championship and continued his playing career in Peterborough until the end of the
1980–81 OHL season
The 1980–81 OHL season was the first season of the newly established Ontario Hockey League, renaming itself from the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. The OMJHL formally severed ties with the Ontario Hockey Association over the summer, and affi ...
. Wiemer had his most productive season in 1980–81 when he recorded 95 points on 41 goals and 54 assists. During his tenure there, he was selected in the
1980 NHL Entry Draft by the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
with the 83rd pick in the fourth round.
Wiemer began his professional career 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 ...
of the
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 ...
(AHL) under coach
Mike Keenan
Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian-American former professional hockey coach. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams between 1984 and 2009. He currently ranks fifth in playoff win ...
. He was originally drafted as a forward and was later moved back to defence by Keenan. He was an integral part in the
1983 Calder Cup Championship run.
Wiemer began his
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 ...
career and began to bounce around a bit to the aforementioned teams. He experienced his first trade in the NHL on December 6, 1984, when the Sabres traded Wiemer and
Steve Patrick
Stephen Gary Patrick (born February 4, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Patrick played 250 games in the National Hockey ...
to the New York Rangers in exchange for
Chris Renaud
Chris Renaud (born December 1966) is an American filmmaker, designer, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Illumination (company), Illumination, including directing the company's animated films such as the Despica ...
and
Dave Maloney.
In 1986, he was traded by the Rangers to the Edmonton Oilers. In the
1987–88 season, Wiemer played 12 regular season games, and two games in the Conference Finals playoff for the Oilers, and has a Stanley Cup Ring. However, his name was not included on the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...
. The criteria to get your name on the cup is to play 40 or more games for the winning team during the regular season, and/or one game played in the Stanley Finals. After playing mostly for the Oilers' farm team in the AHL the next season, he was traded to the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
in March 1989.
In July 1989, Wiemer signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins where he found a solid home. Under coach
Mike Milbury
Michael James Milbury (born June 17, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current sports announcer. He played for twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), all for the Boston Bruins. He helped the Bruins reach ...
, Wiemer was a solid fixture on the blueline with Boston for the better part of four seasons. Wiemer was a member of the Bruins' organization for one more season with their AHL team. In 1994, Wiemer returned to the Rochester Americans for his final season.
Wiemer finished his playing career with 325 games played in the NHL (387 including playoffs). He scored 101 (114 including playoffs) points in his NHL career on 29 goals and 72 assists (34 and 80 including playoffs) with 378 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +17 (437 and +14 including playoffs). Over his full professional career, he scored 999 career points.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards
*
1985–86 -
Eddie Shore Award
The Eddie Shore Award is presented annually to the best defenceman on the American Hockey League (AHL) as chosen by AHL media and players. The award is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shore.
Winners
NHL-level Eddie Shore Award
O ...
as the AHL's top defenceman.
In 2010, Wiemer was inducted into the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame along with former teammate
Randy Cunneyworth
Randy William Cunneyworth (born May 10, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, former AHL head coach, NHL head coach and assistant coach, as well as a pro scout, and player development coach spanning nearly 40 years.
Cunney ...
and trainer
Kent Weisbeck.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiemer, Jim
1961 births
Living people
Boston Bruins players
Buffalo Sabres draft picks
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Cape Breton Oilers players
Edmonton Oilers players
Los Angeles Kings players
Maine Mariners (AHL) players
New Haven Nighthawks players
New York Rangers players
Nova Scotia Oilers players
Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury
Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players
Providence Bruins players
Rochester Americans players
Stanley Cup champions
20th-century Canadian sportsmen