Stephen Wochy[1] (né Wojciechowski; December 25, 1922) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who played 54 games for the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1944 and 1946. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1940 to 1955, was spent in the minor leagues. He was born in Fort William, Ontario but has called Sault Ste Marie, Ontario his home since 1954. After Jim Conacher's death in April 2020, he became the oldest living former NHL player.[2] He is the second NHL player to become a centenarian, Al Suomi being the first known.[3]
| Steve Wochy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Wochy, c. 1943 | |||
| Born |
December 25, 1922 Fort William, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 158 lb (72 kg; 11 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 1940–1955 | ||
Before playing in the NHL, Wojciechowski was a member of the Port Arthur Bearcats in 1942 appearing in the 1942 Allan Cup. Wojciechowski played 10 seasons in the American Hockey League after leaving the NHL, with the Indianapolis Capitals, Philadelphia Rockets, Cleveland Barons and Buffalo Bisons. Wojciechowski was named a first-team AHL All-star in 1952.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1938–39 | Fort William Maroons | TBJHL | 18 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 1939–40 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 16 | 16 | 9 | 25 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1939–40 | Port Arthur Bearcats | TBSHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1940–41 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 16 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 29 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 1941–42 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 18 | 22 | 41 | 63 | 55 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 1941–42 | Port Arthur Bearcats | TBSHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1941–42 | Port Arthur Bearcats | Al-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 17 | ||
| 1942–43 | St. Catharines Saints | OHA Sr | 17 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1943–44 | Winnipeg Army | WNDHL | 10 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1944–45 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 49 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1944–45 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1945–46 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 30 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1945–46 | Omaha Knights | USHL | 17 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1946–47 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1946–47 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 56 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1947–48 | Philadelphia Rockets | AHL | 68 | 37 | 29 | 66 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1948–49 | Philadelphia Rockets | AHL | 68 | 29 | 28 | 57 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1949–50 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 47 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1950–51 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 58 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951–52 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 68 | 37 | 41 | 78 | 42 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1952–53 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 64 | 37 | 31 | 68 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1953–54 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 70 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1954–55 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 17 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954–55 | Soo Greyhounds | NOHA | 23 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 547 | 253 | 262 | 515 | 196 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | ||||
| NHL totals | 54 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
References
edit- ^ Campbell, Ken (April 23, 2020). "Meet Steve Wochy, the NHL's oldest living player". The Hockey News. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Falkner, Mark (May 21, 2020). "Oldest living NHLer Steve Wochy just missed Red Wings' dynasty in 1950s". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Dilello, Ty (December 24, 2022). "Wochy reflects on NHL career on 100th birthday". NHL.com. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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