William Richard Wilson, Jr. (June 17, 1962 – January 22, 2016) was an American 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 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 St. Louis Blues,

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

, and

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

between 1981 and 1988.

Playing career

A youth roller hockey phenom in Southern California, Wilson moved as a teenager to

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Troy is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 87,294, ...

and then

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. Wilson played junior hockey with the Kingston Canadians 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 ...

from 1979–1982, appearing in 151 games, scoring 172 points (54 goals-118 assists), and in 16 playoff games, he had 14 points (2G-12A). Wilson was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 1st round, 12th overall pick in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He also spent 4 games with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL in the 1980–81 playoffs, getting 2 points (1G-1A) in 4 games. He stepped right into the Blues lineup in 1981–82, playing in 48 games, getting 21 points (3G-18A), then had 3 points (0G-3A) in 9 post-season games as a 20-year-old. In 1982–83, his numbers slipped a bit to 14 points (3G-11A) in 56 games and spent some time with the Golden Eagles once again, getting no points in 4 games. Wilson spent most of the 1983–84 season with the Blues, getting 18 points (4G-14A) in 48 games, but went pointless in 10 playoff games. He also spent 6 games with the Montana Magic of the CHL, getting 3 assists. In 1984–85, Wilson would achieve a career high in points at 24 (8G-16A) in 51 games. He also had an assist in 2 playoff games. Wilson began the 1985–86 season in St. Louis, and after 32 games, he had 4 points (0G-4A). The Blues then traded Wilson, along with Joey Mullen and Terry Johnson to the

for Eddy Beers, Charlie Bourgeois, and Gino Cavallini on February 1, 1986. Wilson would only play 2 games with the Flames, going pointless, before he was sent to the

Moncton Golden Flames The Moncton Golden Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick, playing home games at the Moncton Coliseum. The team operated in the American Hockey League between 1984–85 AHL season, 1984 and 1986–87 AHL season, ...

of the AHL, where he had 6 points (3G-3A) in 8 games. On March 11, 1986, Wilson was on the move again, this time to the

, as the Flames traded him to the Hawks for Tom McMurchy. The Blackhawks assigned Wilson to the Nova Scotia Oilers for the remainder of the season, getting 9 points (4G-5A) in 13 games. In 1986–87, Wilson spent the season with the Nova Scotia Oilers, getting 21 points (8G-13A) in 45 games, and had 4 points (1G-3A) in 5 playoff games. For the 1987–88 season, Wilson moved to the Blackhawks IHL affiliate, the Saginaw Hawks, where he had 9 points (4G-5A) in 33 games, and earned his way back up to the NHL, playing in 14 games with Chicago, earning 9 points (4G-5A). In 1988–89, Wilson went overseas to play in Europe, where he suited up for EC Villacher SV in Austria, where he recorded 60 points (17G-43A) in 45 games. On July 19, 1989, Wilson decided to sign with the St. Louis Blues, and played in 15 games with the Blues IHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, getting 5 points (1G-4A) before being released. He then went to Europe once again, playing for ESV Kaufbeuren in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, getting 9 points (2G-7A) in 9 games. In 1990–91, Wilson played 2 games for the

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers (19 ...

of the AHL, getting no points, while playing the rest of the year with EC Villacher SV in Austria once again, getting 58 points (13G-45A) in 44 games. In 1991–92, Wilson spent the year in Italy playing for HC Auronzo, recording 35 points (13G-22A) in 24 games. He then made a brief appearance with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

of the IHL, going pointless in 2 games in 1992–93. Wilson then played in the RHI with the St. Louis Vipers from 1993–96, playing in 55 games, while scoring 110 points (35G-75A).

Death

Wilson died on January 22, 2016, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

at the age of 53.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards

* OHL First All-Star Team (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rik 1962 births 2016 deaths American men's ice hockey defensemen Calgary Flames players Chicago Blackhawks players EC VSV players ESV Kaufbeuren players Fort Wayne Komets players Ice hockey players from California Kingston Canadians players Moncton Golden Flames players Montana Magic players NHL first-round draft picks New Haven Nighthawks players Nova Scotia Oilers players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Saginaw Hawks players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players Sportspeople from Long Beach, California St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players St. Louis Vipers players American inline hockey players 20th-century American sportsmen