Cam Connor
Born (1954-08-10) August 10, 1954
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Left
Played for WHA
Phoenix Roadrunners
Houston Aeros
NHL
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
New York Rangers
NHL Draft 5th overall, 1974
Montreal Canadiens
WHA Draft 4th overall, 1974
Phoenix Roadrunners
Playing career 1974–1983

Cameron Duncan Connor (born August 10, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and a Stanley Cup winner.

Connor was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in October 2015.[1][2]

Early life

Connor grew up best friends with WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, and they stayed friends until Piper's death.[3]

Hockey career

In Connor's last year of junior hockey, he was named captain of the Flin Flon Bombers in the WCHL and scored 47 goals, 44 assists in 65 games, along with 376 penalty minutes.[4] Connor won the Rookie of the Year Award. He claims a lot of this success is due to his coach Pat Ginnell having the confidence in him to make him captain.[5]

Because of Connor's junior success, he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, fifth overall, of the 1974 NHL amateur draft. Connor was also selected by the Phoenix Roadrunners in the first round, fourth overall in the 1974 WHA Secret Amateur Draft. The Roadrunners offered Connor a lot of money, and he ended up choosing the WHA instead of the Canadiens, a move he says he now regrets.[5] Montreal coach Scotty Bowman offered to beat the WHA's offer, but Connor had already given his word and did not want to go back on it.[6] Connor began his World Hockey Association career with the Phoenix Roadrunners before a stint with the Houston Aeros where he played with Gordie Howe and his sons Marty and Mark Howe. He found great success in the WHA and was selected to the 1977 All Star Team. When the Houston Aeros folded he joined the Montreal Canadiens in 1978.

Coached by Scotty Bowman, during the Habs' dynasty years, Montreal's roster was a tough line-up to crack, but Connor did suit up for 23 games that season. He is remembered for his double OT playoff goal to win game three against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[7]

During his time with the Habs, Connor was plagued by injuries and severe food poisoning, and league rules said Connor did not play enough playoff games to have his name engraved on the Cup. His teammates rallied around him and said if his name was not on the Cup, none of their names should be on the Cup. The league reversed their decision and his name was included on the Stanley Cup.[8]

For the Edmonton Oilers' first year in the NHL, they selected Connor as the number one pick in the expansion draft. He played with a rookie Wayne Gretzky, making him one of two players to play with both Gretzky and Gordie Howe (Houston Aeros). Connor was coached by Glen Sather, and was traded to the New York Rangers before the end of that season, learning about his trade over the radio.[9]

Connor battled chronic injuries during his three seasons with the Rangers. He performed well in the 1982 playoffs, scoring 4 goals in 10 games. He broke his back in two spots and ended his career with the Tulsa Oilers.[10]

After hockey

Connor became the assistant coach of the American Hockey League's New Haven Nighthawks following his playing career.

For the first Heritage Classic, Connor was selected to the Montreal Canadiens legends team. He was one of two players present to have played on both the Oilers and Canadiens.

Connor was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.[11]

Connor has been seen at charity events, does motivational speaking, and hosts a podcast, "View from the Penalty Box".[12]

Connor competed on the All Athletes All Star edition of Wipeout Canada on April 24, 2011.[13]

Records and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1971–72 St. Boniface Saints MJHL 32 4 10 14 97 — — — — —
1971–72 Winnipeg Jets WCHL 5 0 4 4 4 — — — — —
1972–73 St. Boniface Saints MJHL 29 11 8 19 161 — — — — —
1972–73 Winnipeg Jets WCHL 14 3 1 4 35 — — — — —
1973–74 Flin Flon Bombers WCHL 65 47 44 91 376 7 4 9 13 28
1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners WHA 57 9 19 28 168 5 0 0 0 2
1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners WHA 73 18 21 39 295 5 1 0 1 21
1976–77 Houston Aeros WHA 76 35 32 67 224 11 3 4 7 47
1977–78 Houston Aeros WHA 68 21 16 37 217 2 1 0 1 22
1978–79 Montreal Canadiens NHL 22 1 3 4 39 8 1 0 1 0
1979–80 Edmonton Oilers NHL 38 7 13 20 136 — — — — —
1979–80 Houston Apollos CHL 5 1 1 2 20 — — — — —
1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 12 0 3 3 37 2 0 0 0 2
1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 15 1 3 4 44 — — — — —
1980–81 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 61 33 28 61 243 4 0 2 2 4
1981–82 Springfield Indians AHL 78 17 34 51 195 — — — — —
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL — — — — — 10 4 0 4 4
1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1982–83 Tulsa Oilers CHL 3 2 2 4 0 — — — — —
1983–84 Tulsa Oilers CHL 64 18 32 50 218 6 1 1 2 34
WHA totals 274 83 88 171 904 23 5 4 9 92
NHL totals 89 9 22 31 256 20 5 0 5 6

References

  1. ↑ "2015 Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees Announced". 680 CJOB - Winnipeg's News & Information Leader. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  2. ↑ "Connor, Cam | Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame". www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  3. ↑ Pinchevsky, Tal (July 31, 2015). "Wrestler Piper owes plenty to Cup-winner Connor". National Hockey League. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Cam Connor Stats and Profile". hockeydb.com.
  5. 1 2 "Episode 1 – Dave Semenko Tribute & Why Cam chose the WHA over the Montreal Canadiens (NHL)". 28 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Podcast Episode 11: WHA – World Hockey Association (Part 1)". December 2017.
  7. ↑ "LeBrun: Leafs-Habs series would be crazy-good". 12 April 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Episode 5: Montreal Canadiens (Part 1)". 25 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Episode 7: New York Rangers (Part 1)". View from the Penalty Box Podcast with Cam Connor (Hockey). 16 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Podcast Episode 13: Saying Goodbye to Hockey (Why Cam Retired)". 4 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "Connor, Cam | Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame".
  12. ↑ "View From the Penalty Box Podcast with Cam Connor (hockey) – Classic Hockey Stories Podcast". Viewfromthepenaltybox.com. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  13. ↑ "Athletes Brace for Big Balls on 'Wipeout Canada'".
  14. ↑ "Tulsa Oilers 1983-84 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
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