Vancouver Canucks first scoring player, Barry Wilkins dies at the age of 64 –NHL Update
Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman, Barry Wilkins, died after a long battle with lung cancer at the age of 64 on Sunday, June 26, at his home in Chandler, Arizona, USA, with his wife Marilyn and son Jamie by his side at the moment of his death.
Canucks’ management and team have extended their condolences to the family through a press release.
"We are saddened by the recent news and on behalf of the entire Vancouver Canucks organization, I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to Barry's family", Canucks’ general manager, Mike Gillis, said in a statement after hearing about the news.
Wilkins was inducted into the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1966-1967 season by Boston Bruins. Prior to joining major league hockey, Wilkins had played for a number of minor league teams, namely, Woodbridge Dodgers, Niagara Falls Flyers, and Oshawa
Generals, all in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA).
In between seasons, he also continued to play for Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Hockey League (CHL), Edmonton Oilers, which was then a Western Hockey Association (WHA) team and ended his hockey career with Philadelphia Firebirds in the American Hockey
League (AHL) in 1979.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 28, 1947, Wilkins played with Boston for three seasons, then joined Vancouver Canucks for half of his 10-year NHL career, spending five seasons with them.
He discontinued in the NHL after two seasons with Pittsburgh Penguins up until 1976, in which he scored 27 points, all assists, in 75 games.
Wilkins will be best remembered as the first player to score a goal for Vancouver Canucks on October 9, 1970, against Los Angeles Kings at the sold-out Pacific Coliseum.
Although Vancouver lost that game, 3-1, it will always be one of their most memorable moments.
He was also part of Canucks 40th anniversary in October of 2010 as he was invited to the now Rogers Arena along with several other original Vancouver players, which brought back many memories to classical hockey fans in and out of the stadium.
Wilkins played 418 games in his NHL career and recorded a total of 152 points, 27 goals and 125 assists. His funeral plans are yet to be announced by the grieved family.
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