Ron Stewart
Encyclopedia
Ronald George Stewart (born July 11, 1932 in Calgary, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

) is a retired professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as an NHL coach.

Hockey career

Ron continued to develop into a formidable hockey player, and played his first two seasons of junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...

, until being traded to three different teams in his last year of OHA play. The Marlboros traded Stewart to the Windsor Spitfires
Windsor Spitfires
The Windsor Spitfires are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1975–76 season and revived a previous OHA Jr. A Spitfires team which moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953.-History:The...

 where he played only two games, then moved on to the Barrie Flyers
Barrie Flyers
The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario.-History:The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in 1945 by Leighton "Hap" Emms. The franchise was soon affiliated with the Boston Bruins of the NHL. Barrie quickly became a...

. He was acquired by Guelph for the playoffs, where he played exceptionally as the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, and played home games at the Guelph Memorial Gardens.- History :The...

 won the Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

 in 1952.

NHL player

The next season saw Stewart make his NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 where he would play for thirteen straight seasons. Stewart joined the team while they were in the process of rebuilding but would see better days down the road. The Leafs and Stewart would win three straight Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 championships from 1961–62 to 1963–64. During his time in Toronto, Stewart played in four All-Star Games, '55, '62, '63 and '64.

Stewart finally left the Leafs when he was traded to the Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 in 1965, where he spent two seasons.

From Boston, he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft
1967 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars,...

 but was traded to the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...

 during the season.

Stewart was involved in a tragic incident in New York that claimed the life of famed goaltender Terry Sawchuk
Terry Sawchuk
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.-Early life and playing career:Sawchuk was born and raised...

, his housemate at the time. Alcohol was involved and none of the witnesses could accurately recall what triggered the dispute, but many speculate that Sawchuk confronted Stewart about household chores. According to Emile Francis, Sawchuk's and Stewart's coach at that time, in an interview that can be viewed on "Legends of Hockey," Stewart took a swing at Sawchuk in the bar, they were then told to leave, and Sawchuk afterwards took a swing at Stewart when they returned home. Apparently, Sawchuk's blow had glanced off Stewart and he fell into a barbecue pit, seriously injuring himself. Sawchuk died from these injuries despite being operated on.

After three years with the Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...

, Stewart was traded to Vancouver
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

, only to be dealt back to New York for their run for the Cup in 1972. Boston defeated the Rangers in the Cup final. After being dealt one last time, to the Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 in the 1972–73 season, he retired from the game as a player.

NHL coach

Stewart stepped behind the bench to coach minor league teams and made it back to the NHL for the 1975–76 season as the coach of the Rangers and then with the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

 for 1977–78.

Retirement

Back in his hometown of Calgary, Stewart became the manager of a couple of local junior teams. Stewart, now retired, lives in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

Teams as player

  • 1951–52: Barrie Flyers (OHA), 29 games
  • 1951–52: Toronto Marlboros (OHA), 21 games
  • 1951–52: Guelph Biltmores (OHA), 12 playoff games
  • 1952–65: Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
  • 1965–67: Boston Bruins (NHL)
  • 1967–68: St. Louis Blues (NHL), 19 games
  • 1967–68: New York Rangers (NHL), 55 games
  • 1968–71: New York Rangers (NHL)
  • 1971–72: Providence Reds (AHL), 18 games
  • 1971–72: Vancouver Canucks (NHL), 42 games
  • 1971–73: New York Rangers (NHL),
  • 1972–73: New York Islanders (NHL)

External links

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