| Barry Ashbee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1939-07-28)July 28, 1939 Weston, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died | May 12, 1977(1977-05-12) (aged 37) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Coached for | Philadelphia Flyers (assistant) | ||
| Playing career | 1959–1974 | ||
| Coaching career | 1974–1977 | ||
William Barry Ashbee (July 28, 1939 – May 12, 1977) was a Canadian professionalice hockeydefenceman who played five seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theBoston Bruins andPhiladelphia Flyers between 1965 and 1974. His career ended prematurely due to an eye injury during a game, which partially blinded him. Ashbee later died ofleukemia in 1977.
Ashbee started his junior hockey with theBarrie Flyers in theOntario Hockey Association in 1956, although he spent one season with the Lakeshore Bruins in theMetro Junior B Hockey League for further development in 1957–58.[1] He started his professional career by playing eight seasons with theHershey Bears of theAmerican Hockey League, although he did play 14 games with theBoston Bruins of the NHL during the1965–66 season. He made his NHL debut on November 25, 1965, against theNew York Rangers.[2] Ashbee missed considerable time due to injuries, including the entire 1966–67 season following surgery to fix a crushed disk in his back, and when the NHLexpanded in 1967, he was left unprotected for theexpansion draft, and subsequently rejoined the minor league Hershey Bears.[2]
He became an NHL regular with thePhiladelphia Flyers during the1970–71 season, and soon became one of their best defensemen. Ashbee was also known as a physical player, and during a game on January 3, 1973, punched areferee after receiving a penalty, and was given an eight-game suspension, the most sinceMaurice Richard'ssuspension in 1955.[3] He was named to the NHL Second All-Star team and won aStanley Cup with the team during the1973–74 season, and had a +52 plus/minus rating during the regular season. However, his career also ended that year during the playoffs against the New York Rangers.
On April 28, 1974, during overtime of Game 4 of a Stanley Cup semifinal series, a slap shot byDale Rolfe of the New York Rangers struck Ashbee in the right eye. He was removed from the ice on a stretcher.[4] According to Ashbee's obituary inThe New York Times, the vision in his injured eye was permanently reduced to 15 percent.[5] With such limited vision Ashbee was unable to continue playing, so he announced his retirement on June 4, 1974.[6][7]
Ashbee became an assistant coach with the team the next season, though he initially declined the job because he thought it was offered to him out of sympathy.[6] In this role, he worked primarily with the team's defencemen. During his first season as an assistant coach, the Flyers won their second straight Stanley Cup. Ashbee had his name added to the Cup for a second time. Ashbee was told that he hadleukemia in April 1977.[8] Though it was caught quickly, the cancer spread fast, and Ashbee died on May 12, 1977.[8] He was buried at Glendale Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Weston, Ontario, his hometown.[9]
His jersey number, 4, was retired by the Flyers on October 13, 1977[10][11] and theBarry Ashbee Trophy is now awarded each season to the best defenseman for the Flyers.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1956–57 | Barrie Flyers | OHA | 34 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1957–58 | Lakeshore Bruins | MetJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Barrie Flyers | OHA | 53 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1959–60 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 62 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 64 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 75 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1961–62 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 35 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 72 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 94 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | ||
| 1963–64 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 72 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 142 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1964–65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 66 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 114 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | ||
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 36 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 100 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1967–68 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 65 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 86 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1968–69 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 71 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 130 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1969–70 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 72 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 80 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | ||
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 64 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 64 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 106 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 | ||
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| AHL totals | 454 | 22 | 115 | 137 | 746 | 61 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 116 | ||||
| NHL totals | 284 | 15 | 70 | 85 | 291 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 22 | ||||