Port Dover native Rick Wamsley realized his boyhood dream of goaltending in the National Hockey League.

Born 25 May 1959, he played minor hockey in Port Dover in the early 1970s, then Midget hockey for Simcoe in 1975-76, before joining the Hamilton Finncups Junior A team in 1977.

Rick was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1979 and  assigned to their Nova Scotia American Hockey League team.

In 1980 he was called up to the NHL.  The following season, Rick and fellow Habs goaltender Denis Heron won the William M. Jennings Trophy for the lowest goals against average in the NHL all season.

Rick founded the Rick Wamsley Golf Classic in 1982 to raise funds for Norfolk County charities.

In 1984 the Habs traded Rick to the St. Louis Blues who in turn traded him to the Calgary Flames.

Five years later, in 1989, Rick's Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup.  "That was the highlight of my career," says Wamsley.  He and Mike Veron shared goaltending for the Flames that year.

In 1992 the Flames traded Rick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he retired during the 1992-93 season with a 12-year career record of 204-121-46 and a 3.34 goals against average.

For the following six years, Rick was an assistant coach in the Leafs organization under Pat Burns. Rick joined the 2000 NHL expansion team Columbus Blue Jackets as goaltending coach and scout, a position he still holds.

As other Norfolk County natives earned spots in the NHL, Rick invited them to join him in his charitable efforts, renaming the organization the Norfolk Pros Foundation.

For almost two decades the Foundation Rick started has raised thousands for local youth programs and education.  The Port Dover Arena Fund, Norfolk General Hospital, Camp Trillum and Norfolk United Way have all benefited, as has the community at large.

Rick was inducted to our Sports Hall of Recognition in 1997.





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Original 1997 Pofile by Don Stewart, Jill Dennison