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Wayne Babych

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Wayne Babych
Babych in 2005
Born (1958-06-06) June 6, 1958 (age 66)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh Penguins
Quebec Nordiques
Hartford Whalers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 3rd overall, 1978
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1978–1987

Wayne Joseph Babych (born June 6, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers. He is the older brother of former NHL player Dave Babych.

Babych played his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Canada Hockey League before being drafted 3rd overall by St. Louis in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. A skilled winger, he netted 20 or more goals four times in seven full NHL seasons. In 1980–81, Babych become the first 50-goal scorer in Blues franchise history. His 54 goals stood as the Blues single season record until Brett Hull's 72 goal campaign in 1989–90. Babych, Hull and Brendan Shanahan are the only players in Blues history to record 50-goal seasons.

Babych was inducted into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame in January 2025 along with Jim Roberts and Curtis Joseph.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Babych was born on June 6, 1958, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada[2] to parents Edward and Tillie Babych.[3] He is of Ukrainian descent as his grandparents are both from the Ukrainan city of Brody.[4] Babych grew up in Edmonton alongside his twin sister Susan and younger brother Dave,[5] while their father ran a sporting goods store in the nearby town of Vegreville.[6]

Career

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Babych was drafted third overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1978 NHL amateur draft. While both the Edmonton Oilers and Quebec Nordiques offered him World Hockey Association (WHA) contracts, Babych chose to sign with the Blues and play in the National Hockey League (NHL).[7] The Blues had offered him a three-year contract, which included a $125,000 signing bonus and an option for a fourth year at $110,000. However, due to a miswording in the contract, the Blues were forced to retain him for a fourth year instead of having it as an offer.[8] Babych played one game with the Blues in the preseason before suffering bruised ribs in his second game after blocking a shot. He eventually returned to the Blues lineup on October 3 for an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Kings.[9] Babych began the 1978–79 season by scoring first NHL goal on October 13 against the Vancouver Canucks.[10] Babych quickly co-led the team in scoring with five goals and eight assists through his first seven games.[11] Three of his five goals came in his first four games.[12] By the end of October, Babych had become a mainstay on the Blues' "Kid Line" with Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter and led the NHL in scoring with 18 points.[13] The trio had earned their "Kid" moniker as they were all under the age of 23.[14]

While the Blues struggled to win games, the "Kid Line" continued to find success and combined for 29 of the team's 60 total goals through the first 17 games of the season.[15] Babych started December in a three-way tie for eighth in league scoring with 12 goals and 18 assists.[16] On January 6, Babych broke the Blues' rookie goal scoring record with his 21st of the season but was unable to finish the game after injuring his ankle. At the time of the injury, Babych led the team with 42 points, and the "Kid Line" had combined for 127 points.[17] He missed 13 to recover but returned to the Blues' lineup on February 13 against the Vancouver Canucks. Despite his lengthy absence, only Bobby Smith passed him in scoring among rookies.[18] Bob Murdoch replaced Babych as the top-line winger during his absence but the original "Kid Line" was reunited once Babych returned.[19] In his third game back, Babych broke Murphy's franchise rookie points record by tallying his 44th point of the season in a 6–6 tie with the New York Rangers.[20][21] Later, on March 7, Babych tallied his 31st assist of the season to break Bob Hess's franchise rookie assist record.[20] After finishing his rookie season with 27 goals and 36 assists,[20] Babych ranked third in Calder Memorial Trophy voting as the NHL's Rookie of the Year.[22]

Babych played a key role in the Blues' success in the 1979–80 season as they finished with a 34-34-12 record and clinched second place in the Smythe Division.[23] He was reunited with his usual linemates to start the season,[24] and recorded his first career NHL hat-trick on October 23 against the Boston Bruins.[25] By November, Babych led the team with six points over 11 games.[26] However, a shoulder injury on November 3 limited him to just 20 of the Blues' first 49 games. Once he returned to the lineup in January, Babych was moved onto the Blues' second line with Mike Zuke and Tony Currie.[27]

Babych began the 1980–81 season with 10 points through seven games to help the team to a franchise-best 4–2–1 record.[28] When Blair Chapman suffered an injury in mid-November, head coach Red Berenson placed Babych on the wing of Brian Sutter and Bernie Federko. They swiftly combined for 13 points through their first five games together before Babych suffered an injury on November 18.[29] He missed two games to recover from the injury before returning to the Blues' lineup on November 25. In his first game back, he scored two goals against the Buffalo Sabres to lead the team with 14.[30] Babych maintained a franchise-record-setting goal streak through the end of December and early January.[31] Over the eight-game span, Babych recorded 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points and ranked 11th in league scoring.[32][33] On January 27, 1981, Babych set a new franchise record for most goals scored by a Blues right winger in a season.[34] He started February as the second leading goal scorer in the Blues' confernce and was selected for the 1981 NHL All-Star Game following an injury to Bryan Trottier.[35][36] On February 28, he passed Chuck Lefley's franchise single-season goal record by recording his 44th and 45th of the season against the Washington Capitals. His game-winning goal also ensured that the Blues qualified for the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs.[37] A few days later, he scored a power-play goal against the Boston Bruins to help the team establish a new franchise record of 73 power-play goals in one season.[38] On March 8, Babych scored his 49th goal of the season to set a new Blues record of having scored a goal against 18 NHL teams in one season.[39] On March 12, Babych became the first player in franchise history and 25th in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season.[40] He also became the sixth player in franchise history to record 100 career goals with the team.[41] While Jörgen Pettersson broke his rookie records, Babych set new franchise records with 54 goals and 42 assists for 96 points. His goals, assists, and points totals were the most ever scored by a right-winger in Blues history.[42]

Personal life

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Babych married Shelley Buffie in a double wedding ceremony with his brother Dave and Shelley's twin sister on July 3, 1982.[5][43] After retiring, Babych ran a water slide company before building and operating numerous golf courses in Winnipeg with his brother.[8][44] Later, he and his brother began working with the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine organization to help disadvantaged Ukrainian children play ice hockey.[4][45]

Career statistics

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74 Edmonton Oil Kings WCHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1973–74 Edmonton Mets AJHL 56 20 18 38 68 — — — — —
1974–75 Edmonton Oil Kings WCHL 68 19 17 36 157 — — — — —
1975–76 Edmonton Oil Kings WCHL 61 32 46 78 98 5 2 1 3 23
1976–77 Portland Winter Hawks WCHL 71 50 62 112 76 10 2 6 8 10
1977–78 Portland Winter Hawks WCHL 68 50 71 121 218 8 4 4 8 19
1978–79 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 27 36 63 75 — — — — —
1979–80 St. Louis Blues NHL 59 26 35 61 49 3 1 2 3 2
1980–81 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 54 42 96 93 11 2 0 2 8
1981–82 St. Louis Blues NHL 51 19 25 44 51 7 3 2 5 8
1982–83 St. Louis Blues NHL 71 16 23 39 62 — — — — —
1983–84 St. Louis Blues NHL 70 13 29 42 52 10 1 4 5 4
1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 65 20 34 54 35 — — — — —
1985–86 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 15 6 5 11 18 — — — — —
1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 37 11 17 28 59 10 0 1 1 2
1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 78 9 33 42 35 14 2 7 9 2
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 4 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 519 192 246 438 498 41 7 9 16 24
WCHL totals 269 151 197 348 549 23 8 11 19 52

Awards

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  • WCHL First All-Star Team – 1977 & 1978

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Blues name 2025 Hall of Fame class". National Hockey League. October 22, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Wayne Babych". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "Canucks honor veteran for game 1,000". Nanaimo Daily News. February 8, 1996. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Friesen, Paul (27 February 2022). "Hockey hearts in Winnipeg go out to Ukraine". The Province. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Notes". The Hamilton Spectator. March 19, 1982. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Mueller, Gary (December 5, 1980). "Floored Wayne Babych: he 'Owes Brother David One'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Grow, Doug (June 21, 1978). "Babych Brash, And In Cash". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Mason, Gary (November 23, 2002). "Oldies but goodies". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Blues' Babych Shoots Back". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 4, 1978. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Ex-Hawks score 1st NHL goals". The Columbian. October 15, 1978. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Eggers, Kerry (October 25, 1978). "Babych: Co-scoring leader as a rookie!". Oregon Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Babych boosts Blues". Oregon Journal. October 18, 1978. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ LeBar, Paul (October 31, 1978). "Ex-Hawk Babych tops NHL scoring". The Columbian. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Mueller, Gary (October 27, 1978). "Babych New Kid On Blockbuster Line". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Hot St. Louis line an instant success". The Hamilton Spectator. November 18, 1978. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Stern, Mike (December 5, 1978). "Babych a welcome additon to the 'Kid Line'". The Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Hummel, Rick (January 8, 1979). "Blues Lose Babych With Ankle Injury". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Babych Returning To Face Canucks". St. Louis Post Dispatch. February 13, 1979. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Mueller, Gary (March 2, 1979). "Federko Isn't Perfect Yet". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c Berns, Donald (May 15, 1979). "Babych Hopes For Rookie Honor". The Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Espo hasn't forgotten how to score". The Calgary Albertan. February 19, 1979. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Sports shorts". St. Louis Post Dispatch. May 2, 1979. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Matthews, Lynn (April 22, 1980). "Winter Hawks help cure the Blues in NHL". The Columbian. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Sonmor juggles lines but not top scorers". Minnesota Star Tribune. October 24, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Mueller, Gary (October 24, 1979). "Babych Repays Liut, Gets Blues Even". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Babych brothers out of action". The Columbian. November 6, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Matheson, Jim (January 29, 1980). "Babych still singing the Blues". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ DeLand, Dave (October 23, 1980). "Babych's fast start building confidence". The Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Blues' Zuke An Unwitting Goat by Gary Mueller". St. Louis Post Dispatch. November 19, 1980. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Babych bruises Sabres". Calgary Herald. November 26, 1980. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Blues Notes". The Belleville News-Democrat. January 11, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "High-scoring Babych isn't singing the Blues". Edmonton Journal. January 13, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Babych's play cited". The Oregonian. January 15, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "Experiment over for No. 2 Blue line". The Hamilton Spectator. January 28, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Matheson, Jim (February 10, 1981). "Babych: bartender becomes star". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Babych replaces injured Trottier". The Belleville News-Democrat. February 10, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ^ Mueller, Gary (March 1, 1981). "More Blues Records Fall". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Blues 4, Bruins 2". The Santa Fe New Mexican. March 4, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  39. ^ "Bluenotes". St. Louis Post Dispatch. March 9, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  40. ^ Mueller, Gary (March 13, 1981). "Blues Lose, But Save Face With Rally". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "Babych now 50-goal man for the Blues". Edmonton Journal. March 17, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  42. ^ "Blues Records". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 7, 1981. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  43. ^ "Babych brothers to marry twin sisters". The Times-Transcript. March 4, 1982. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Bretsch, Bran (January 23, 1992). "Two golf courses keep Wayne Babych busy". The Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved March 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  45. ^ Pauls, Karen (December 28, 2022). "How Canadians are helping Ukrainian kids play hockey, despite the conflict with Russia". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by St. Louis Blues first round draft pick
1978 		Succeeded by
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