IMAGE INFORMATION
EditPatrick James "Whitey" Stapleton - Born July 4, 1940 in Sarnia, Ontario – Died April 8, 2020 in London, Ontario, was a Canadian ice Hockey defenceman and coach.
- Sutherland Cup Champion 1958 with Sarnia Legionnaires
- J. Ross Robertson Cup Champion 1960 with St. Catherine Teepees
- Memorial Cup Champion 1960 with St. Catherine Teepees.
- Lester Patrick Cup Champion 1965 with Portland Buckaroos
Hal Laycoe Cup Winner 1964–65 season. Awarded to the Outstanding Defenseman of the WHL as voted by the players.
Stanley Cup finalist 1971 and 1973.
Stapleton made his NHL debut with Boston Bruins on October 11, 1961 vs New York Rangers at Boston Garden in a 6-2 New York win.
Stapleton scored his 1st NHL goal vs Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens at 12:25 of the 3rd period on March 10, 1962 at The Forum in a 5-2 Montreal win.
Stapleton was a member of Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series, playing 7 games (+6).
He again represented Canada in the 1974 Summit Series this time as team captain.
Pat Stapleton was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Pat Stapleton was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2010.
On September 10, 2022, the Sarnia Arena was renamed Pat Stapleton Arena in his honour.
NOTE
It was believed that Stapleton had the puck used by Paul Henderson to score the Summit Series winning goal. Stapleton himself admitted that he did not know which one of the hundreds of pucks he owns is that game winning one, though it was in his possession.