Norman Joseph Andrew Beaudin (born November 28, 1941) 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 ...

forward. Between 1962 and 1979, he played two short stints 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 ...

and spent most of his major league career 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

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

. He spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues and the Swiss Nationalliga A. He owned two hockey stores in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Minor leagues

In four years in the junior leagues, Beaudin played twice for the

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 1961 with the

Regina Pats The Regina Pats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1917, the Pats are the world's oldest continuously operating major junior hockey franchise in its original location and using its original name. The ...

of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

, and in 1962 with the Edmonton Oil Kings. In 1962, Beaudin signed with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

and played with their farm team in Hull-Ottawa. It is there that he accomplished the rare feat of scoring a goal in the same game that he served as an emergency goaltender. In 1963 he was claimed in the waiver draft by 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 played the next four seasons with their farm clubs, the

Pittsburgh Hornets The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to popular belief, the Pittsburgh Hornets did not evolve from the International Hockey League's Pittsburgh Shamrocks. The ...

and the Memphis Wings. 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 ...

, he was claimed by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

in the expansion draft, and made his NHL debut that year; he spent most of the season with the Blues'

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

affiliate. He was loaned to 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 ...

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, and then played three seasons for the Cleveland Barons of the AHL. At that time, his rights were traded to the

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 ...

, for whom he played 12 games in 1970-71.

WHA career

Beaudin was the first player signed by the

of the newly established

, and he played on a line nicknamed ''the Luxury Line'' with superstar left winger

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull (January 3, 1939 – January 30, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blond hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot t ...

and centre Christian Bordeleau in the Jets' inaugural season. He had his best pro season by far, scoring 38 goals and 65 assists for 103 points, and was named to play in the WHA's first All-Star Game in 1973. He led the WHA playoffs in scoring that year with 13 goals and 15 assists, including seven points in one game against 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 ...

. Beaudin's production dropped sharply the next season, and in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

he and Bordeleau were replaced as Hull's linemates by Swedish stars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. After the Jets won the

AVCO World Trophy The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979. The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name origin ...

in 1976, Beaudin signed with Swiss team

SC Langnau The SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the sma ...

, with whom he played for two seasons before retiring.

Biography

A biography of his career, ''The Original: Living Life Through Hockey'', was published in 2022.

Career statistics

Internet Hockey Database

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaudin, Norm 1941 births Living people 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey forwards Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players HC Sierre players Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kansas City Blues (ice hockey) players Memphis Wings players Minnesota North Stars players Pittsburgh Hornets players Regina Pats players St. Louis Blues players SC Langnau players Spokane Comets players Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players