Introduction
Donald William "Elbows" Awrey (born July 18, 1943) is a Canadian former professional hockey defenceman. He played 979 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Colorado Rockies.
A defensive defenceman, known for his superb shot-blocking and bone-jarring bodychecks, Awrey played for the Niagara Falls Flyers of the OHA before being signed by the Bruins. Despite being an exceptionally fast skater, he rarely scored goals. He made his NHL debut in 1963–64 for the Bruins, his first of 16 seasons in the league.
Awrey was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Bruins, in 1970 and 1972. He was also part of the Montreal Canadiens team that won the Stanley Cup in 1976, but did not play in any playoff games that season, and so does not have his name engraved on the cup for that year even though he qualified. In 1972, Awrey was named to Canada's team for the Summit Series, playing in two of the eight games.
Awrey's last season in the NHL was 1978–79, when he played for the Colorado Rockies. He now lives in the Naples, Florida area.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1960–61 | Waterloo Siskins | CJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 41 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 90 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 1962–63 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 50 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 111 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 29 | ||
| 1962–63 | Niagara Falls Flyers | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 58 | ||
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Minneapolis Bruins | CPHL | 54 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 136 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | ||
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 63 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 153 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 1967–68 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 150 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1968–69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 73 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 149 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1969–70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 73 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 120 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 32 | ||
| 1970–71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 141 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 1971–72 | Boston Braves | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 34 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 52 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 45 | ||
| 1972–73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 90 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1973–74 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 75 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 20 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 56 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 58 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1978–79 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 56 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 969 | 31 | 158 | 189 | 1065 | 71 | 0 | 18 | 18 | 150 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Canada | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |