Hockey community mourns the tragic passing of a 91-year old legend
In tragic news, one of Newfoundland and Labrador's best hockey players, George Faulkner, passed away at 91.
George Faulkner was a hockey icon and one of the best players Newfoundland has produced. In the 1950s, he would've easily made the NHL's Montreal Canadiens roster, but it was chock full of legends like Jean Beliveau and Maurice Richard.
With his path to the NHL blocked, he'd play with the team's minor-league affiliate, the Shawinigan Falls Cataracts.
Faulkner was a key member of the 1966 Team Canada lineup which would win a Bronze Medal at the World Hockey Championships.
He'd lead Team Canada in scoring that year.
Instead of hanging up the skates after failing to secure a career in the NHL, he continued to skate even up until the age of 81.
Faulkner's influence in the N.L. area has impacted many lives like Douglas Moores.
"He was an outstanding man. I'm very glad to have had the relationship that I had with him for 66 years," Moores told CBC News Monday.
"George is a legend. I'm glad I knew a legend."
Hockey is a family sport, as we've seen many fathers, sons, and daughters share in the love of the game.
The Faulkner brothers were all hockey stars. George's younger brother, Alex, would become the province's first NHLer back in the early 1960s, first with the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the Detroit Red Wings.
While
George himself would never get the shot due to a talented Canadiens team, at least one of the brothers got the chance to wear a sweater in the NHL.
But that didn't stop him from acquiring multiple hockey titles in Senior Hockey Leagues:
George Faulkner's hall of fame career also included nine Herder Memorial Senior hockey titles, mostly with the Grand Falls Andcos and Conception Bay CeeBees.
The senior hockey legend was known to many people in the area as a kind and caring man.
Moores said he'll remember Faulkner for his charming and caring personality that attracted so many people to him.
"He maintained that personality right through his whole life. I mean I've never been in a situation with Georgie, on the ice, off the ice, in the dressing room or in the social gathering, where George was not ... well respected and well liked. And he was just a tremendous personality on every level of his life."
The Newfoundland and Labrador area lost a true legend.
We send our deepest condolences to his wife Barbara Jean, and the Faulkner family.
Previously on HawksInsider
POLL |
JANVIER 22 | 69 ANSWERS Hockey community mourns the tragic passing of a 91-year old legend Rest in peace George Faulkner |
Rest in peace | 69 | 100 % |
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