John Wensink

John Wensink
Born	(1953-04-01) April 1, 1953 (age 71) Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins Quebec Nordiques Colorado Rockies New Jersey Devils
National team	Netherlands
NHL draft	104th overall, 1973 St. Louis Blues
WHA draft	28th overall, 1973 New York Golden Blades
Playing career	1973–1983

John Wensink (born April 1, 1953) is a Dutch–Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), most prominently with the Boston Bruins. Wensink played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins in 1977 and 1978.

Wensink grew up in Maxville, Ontario, the son of Dutch immigrants, and played for the Netherlands national team in the 1989 World Championships.

Career

Wensink is best remembered for his time with the Boston Bruins, where he teamed with Terry O'Reilly and Stan Jonathan as the team's enforcers. On December 1, 1977, Wensink, after fighting Alex Pirus of the Minnesota North Stars, skated to the Minnesota bench and challenged the entire team, but no player responded.^[1] Wensink is also well-known for the large afro that he sported on the ice. In another scrap with Bob Kelly, Wensink and Kelly were pulling at each other's hair.

Besides his skill as a fighter, Wensink could score as well. He had a career high 46 points in the 1978–79 season for the Bruins.

Wensink also played for the St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Rockies and the New Jersey Devils. He finished his career with the Nijmegen Tigers in the Dutch Eredivisie in 1984–85.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended, Wensink moved to St. Charles, Missouri, and started a home renovation company,^[2] where he also plays senior hockey. Wensink has been active as a pee-wee hockey coach.^[3] He is still active with the St. Louis Blues Alumni and the Boston Bruins Alumni hockey teams.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1970–71	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		57	11	6	17	151		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		60	10	22	32	169		15	2	2	4	64
1972–73	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		52	9	26	35	242		16	1	6	7	55
1973–74	St. Louis Blues	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Rochester Americans	AHL		36	6	2	8	139		5	0	0	0	29
1974–75	Denver Spurs	CHL		21	3	8	11	75		—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	Boston Bruins	NHL		23	4	6	10	32		13	0	3	3	8
1977–78	Boston Bruins	NHL		80	16	20	36	181		15	2	2	4	54
1978–79	Boston Bruins	NHL		76	28	18	46	108		8	0	1	1	19
1979–80	Boston Bruins	NHL		69	9	11	20	110		4	0	0	0	5
1980–81	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		53	6	3	9	124		3	0	0	0	0
1981–82	Colorado Rockies	NHL		57	5	3	8	152		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	New Jersey Devils	NHL		42	2	7	9	135		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Wichita Wind	CHL		7	1	0	1	36		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Vissers Nijmegen	NED		14	15	12	27	39		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				403	70	68	138	842		43	2	6	8	86

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1989	Netherlands	WC-C		7	3	5	8	10
Senior totals				7	3	5	8	10

References

1. Kamchen, Richard (31 March 2013). "Backchecking: Brad Maxwell". TheHockeyNews. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
2. Dupont, Kevin Paul (1 January 1995). "Ex-Players Can Understand Both NHL Sides". Deseret News. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
3. "Meet Me In St. Louis | USA Hockey Magazine". www.usahockeymagazine.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database