Galen Head
| Galen Head | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 16, 1947 Grande Prairie, Alberta , Canada | ||
| Died |
March 14, 2020 (aged 72) Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1967–1976 | ||
Galen Russell Head (April 16, 1947 – March 14, 2020) was a Canadian professional
Juniors
Head started out playing in the Grande Prairie Minor Hockey Association at age 13. Three years later, Head moved to senior hockey and played in the South Peace Hockey League as a member of the Grande Prairie Athletics, where he won SPHL Rookie Of The Year honors in 1963–64.[2]
He remained with the Athletics until midway through the 1964–65 season, where he received an invite from the Edmonton Oil Kings. Head remained with the Oil Kings during the 1965–66 season, where he faced off against the Oshawa Generals, a team led by future Hockey Hall Of Fame member Bobby Orr.[2] The Oil Kings defeated the Generals and won the Memorial Cup. Head scored 16 points in 19 games during the 1965–66 post-season.[3]
Head continued to play with the Oil Kings for one more season, scoring 50 goals and 42 assists and trailing
Professional
Head received an invitation from the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings to attend training camp in the fall of 1967.[2] In camp, he was assigned #15 and was given $130 for a one-game tryout but was released on September 22.
Head was later assigned to the
The following season, Head had his best statistical season. He scored 67 goals and 121 points in 72 games, which led all EHL players.[5]
Head later became player/coach of the Jets during the 1973–74 season as a result of a coach walking out prior to the start of the season. Head was later named official head coach that season and be named captain of the team. He played until the 1975–76 season, after which he retired after eight seasons with the Jets.
Head ranks among the leader in many career statistics in Johnstown history. His 308 goals as a member of the Jets ranks third all time, while his 601 points rank fourth and his 293 assists are sixth highest.[2] His 67 goal season and 69 single season goals (regular and post-season) were a record until former Johnstown Chiefs forward Mark Green eclipsed the totals with 68 goals in the regular season and 70 single season goals in 1991–92.
Awards
- CMJHL Second All-Star Team – 1967
Personal
Head, like several members of the 1975–76 Johnstown Jets, had a part in the movie Slap Shot. He played one of the uncredited hockey players.[6] His wife, Grace Head, had a credited speaking part as "Pam", one of the hockey wives in the movie.
Head was one of several people responsible for founding the Bishop McCort hockey program in 1985. With Head leading the team as head coach, McCort won three Pennsylvania state championships over a period of eleven years.[2]
On October 18, 2003, Head was the third person to have their number retired by the Johnstown Chiefs. Although he did not play for the Chiefs, as they were founded after his retirement, he was recognized for his contributions as a player with the Jets, his tenure with the Chiefs providing game night scouting reports, and for his contributions to hockey to the city of Johnstown. He is also a member of the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame, the Johnstown Hockey Hall Of Fame, and the Grande Prairie Hockey Hall of Fame.
Head died in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on March 14, 2020.[7]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1964–65 | Edmonton Red Wings | AJHL-B | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Edmonton Oil Kings | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1965–66 | Edmonton Oil Kings | ASHL | 40 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1965–66 | Edmonton Oil Kings | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 19 | ||
| 1966–67 | Edmonton Oil Kings | CMJHL | 56 | 50 | 42 | 92 | 43 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | ||
1967–68
|
Fort Worth Wings
|
CHL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 70 | 53 | 52 | 105 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 72 | 67 | 54 | 121 | 76 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | WHL
|
43 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 67 | 31 | 27 | 58 | 42 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1971–72 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 75 | 37 | 34 | 71 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 72 | 44 | 33 | 77 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1973–74 | Johnstown Jets | NAHL | 73 | 31 | 40 | 71 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Johnstown Jets | NAHL | 58 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 30 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 18 | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Johnstown Jets | NAHL | 73 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 44 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | ||
| EHL totals | 356 | 232 | 200 | 432 | 229 | 39 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 12 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "Galen Head Stats". hockey-reference.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "HOCKEY LEGENDS: Galen Head - A tale in two cities - a hockey biography". Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23.
- ^ "NHL Player Search - Player - Galen Head". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ^ "Edmonton Oil Kings 1966–67 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com.
- ^ "EHL 1968–69 League Leaders at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com.
- ^ "Galen Head". IMDb.
- ^ Mastovich, Mike. "Mike Mastovich | Johnstown hockey icon Galen Head passes away at 72". The Tribune-Democrat.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com