Eddie Oatman
Eddie Oatman | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Springford, Ontario | June 10, 1889||
Died | November 5, 1973 | (aged 84)||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb) | ||
Position | Right Wing | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
Duluth Zephyrs | ||
Playing career | 1907–1939 |
Edward Cole Oatman (June 10, 1889 – November 5, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years (1907–39) playing professional ice hockey, Oatman was named an all-star for ten consecutive seasons by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). He was a star with the Quebec Bulldogs when it won the 1912 Stanley Cup. Oatman played with clubs that won five league championships, and he was a successful coach and captain of five different hockey teams. His brother Russell also played professional ice hockey.
Personal life
Born and raised in
Playing career
Oatman played in 1907 with the Tillsonburg (Ontario) Junior Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) club. The next year he played with the Simcoe Intermediate OHA and, in 1909, he turned professional with the
Because of that championship, he and every member of the Bulldogs were offered a contract by PCHA teams. Oatman signed with New Westminster Royals. In the 1914–15 season, he was named to the PCHA All-Star team.[2] The Royals became the Portland Rosebuds and Oatman became the team captain. The following year, he was also its coach and was an All-Star again when the club won the league championship. However, in 1916 the Montreal Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup title, beating Portland three games to two in a best of five playoff series.[3] With Portland's near victory over Montreal, expectations grew for their chances in the 1916–1917 season, but these hopes ended when Oatman enlisted in the Canadian armed forces as part of the 228th Battalion.
When the 228th Battalion
Oatman was traded to the
Playing style
"I've played all over the ice, but mostly on the forward line. I broke in as a right wing. When I came out to the Coast they switched me to the defense with Moose Johnson. Last year I played center and this year am playing rover so that I can be back on defense part of the time, giving us a sort of double defense."
– Eddie Oatman in 1915 on his many roles on the ice.[6]
"I was always a good stick-handler, but was slow as a skater. Those fellows at Quebec were must too fast for me when I started. I realized that there was a lot of difference between an amateur and a professional, something that most amateurs and practically all amateur supporters are slow in bringing themselves to realize. I knew I'd have to show more speed than I was. I started out to skate just as hard as I knew how. I kept at it all during practice and during the games. I never tried to carry the puck, but got rid of it just as soon as it came to me. By this method I managed to keep up with the rest and finally the speed came into my legs. After that I didn't have so much trouble."
– Eddie Oatman on his strengths and weaknesses.[6]
Eddie Oatman was a versatile forward who played most of the positions on the forward line during his hockey career, such as
Oatman claimed that he was first taken aback by the speed of his teammates when he first joined the Quebec Bulldogs, and that he realized that he had to improve his skating to keep up with the professional game. At first he did not try to carry the puck, but got rid of it through passing just as soon as it came to him, before he felt that his legs had caught up well enough to manage the speed of the game.[6]
Statistics
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1910 | Galt Professionals | OPHL | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Waterloo Colts | OPHL | 12 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
1910–11 | Quebec Bulldogs | NHA | 16 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 61 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1911–12 | Quebec Bulldogs | NHA | 18 | 19 | 4 | 23 | 40 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Stanley Cup | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
1912–13 | New Westminster Royals | PCHA | 13 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 46 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1913–14 | New Westminster Royals | PCHA | 16 | 22 | 5 | 27 | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1914–15 | Portland Rosebuds | PCHA | 18 | 22 | 8 | 30 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1915–16 | Portland Rosebuds | PCHA | 18 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 24 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Stanley Cup | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | ||||
1916–17 | Toronto 228th Battalion |
NHA | 12 | 17 | 5 | 22 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1917–18 | Portland Rosebuds | PCHA | 18 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1919 | Victoria Aristocrats |
PCHA | 18 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1919–20 | Victoria Aristocrats | PCHA | 22 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 38 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1920–21 | Victoria Aristocrats | PCHA | 22 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1921–22 | Victoria Aristocrats | PCHA | 21 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 28 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Vancouver Millionaires | Stanley Cup | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |||
1922–23 | Victoria Cougars | PCHA | 29 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 49 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
1923–24 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
West-P | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||||
Stanley Cup | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||||
1924–25 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 26 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
1925–26 | Calgary Tigers | WHL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1926–27 | Minneapolis Millers | AHA | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
1927–28 | Boston Tigers | CAHL | 36 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 54 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1928–29 | Boston Tigers | CAHL | 38 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
1929–30 | Boston Tigers | CAHL | 39 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1930–31 | Buffalo Majors | AHA | 45 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 63 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1931–32 | Buffalo Majors | AHA | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1932–33 | St. Paul Saints | CHL | 34 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1938–39 | Duluth Zephyrs | IASHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
TBSHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
NHA totals | 46 | 44 | 14 | 58 | 121 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
PCHA totals | 195 | 124 | 81 | 205 | 266 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
Stanley Cup totals | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 30 |
Statistics from SIHR at sihrhockey.org, and EliteProspects at eliteprospects.com
References
Notes
- ^ "Picture of Oatman family in Boston". Archived from the original on January 18, 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "Two Portland men on All-Star coast hockey team" Oregon Daily Journal. Feb. 28, 1915 . Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ Stanley Cup Annual Record 1916 NHL (nhl.com). Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ "Tigers Getting 60-Minute Player in Eddie Oatman" Calgary Daily Herald. October 18, 1923.
- ^ "Defies father time" Border Cities Star (Windsor). Jan. 2, 1932. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ a b c d "Here's greatest forward in hockey" Oregon Daily Journal. Dec. 19, 1915. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Eddie Oatman at Find a Grave