Andy Aitkenhead Explained

Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:8
Weight Lb:150
Played For:New York Rangers
Birth Date:March 6, 1904
Birth Place:Glasgow, Scotland
Death Place:Multnomah County, Oregon, U.S.
Career Start:1926
Career End:1940

Andrew Aitkenhead (March 6, 1904 — October 21, 1968) was a Scottish-born Canadian ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League between 1932 and 1934. Born in Glasgow, Aitkenhead came to Canada as a young child with his family, and grew up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Playing career

Andy Aitkenkead played ten years in various minor leagues in Western Canada, most notably appearing in the 1923 Memorial Cup with the Saskatoon Quakers.[1] After turning pro, Aitkenhead took two teams to the Allan Cup finals, the Saskatoon Nationals and the Saskatoon Empires, in 1924 and 1926 respectively.[2]

Originally taken by the Rangers in the Inter-league draft from the Saskatoon Shieks in 1928, his rights were sent back and forth between the Rangers and the Portland Buckaroos of the PCHL,[3] until he finally signed with the Rangers as a free agent in 1931. He made his debut for the Rangers on November 10, 1932, at the Montreal Forum against the Montreal Maroons. He won the job as starting goaltender for the Rangers from John Ross Roach, who had twice led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals.[4] In his first two seasons in New York, Aitkenhead played in every single game for the Rangers, and he put up solid numbers. In his first season in New York, Aitkenhead was fourth in the league in goals against average, as well as fourth in wins.[5] In that rookie season, he led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup, their second, in 1933.[6] He posted a shutout in the clinching game, in overtime, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The following season, Aitkenhead finished fifth overall in goals against, yet second in wins, and third in shutouts,[7] however the Rangers were eliminated by the Maroons in the opening round of the playoffs.[8] In 1935 Aitkenhead struggled, and eventually lost the starting job to Dave Kerr. He played only 10 games that season. Kerr later said that Aitkenhead's obsession with his game were what got to him, and led to his departure from the NHL. After 1935 Andy Aitkenhead was returned to the minor leagues. Aitkenhead spent 6 seasons with the Portland Buckaroos of the PCHL before retiring from hockey in 1941.

Legacy

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Aitkenhead at No. 97 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[9]

Aitkenhead was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T Min GA GAAGP W L T Min GA SO GAA
1921–22Yorkton TerriersSIHA6 3 3 0 480 19 0 2.38
1922–23Saskatoon St. GeorgeSCJHL
1922–23Saskatoon QuakersM-Cup2 1 0 1 120 3 0 1.50
1923–24Saskatoon NationalsN-SSHL5 4 0 1 350 5 1 0.86
1923–24Saskatoon NationalsAl-Cup2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50
1925–26Saskatoon EmpiresN-SSHL4 4 0 0 240 12 1 3.00
1925–26Saskatoon EmpiresAl-Cup2 0 1 1 140 9 0 3.86
1926–27Saskatoon SheiksPHL32 14 15 3 1902 94 7 2.974 1 3 0 240 7 0 1.75
1927–28Saskatoon SheiksPHL28 18 5 5 1733 41 7 1.42
1928–29Springfield IndiansCan-Am40 13 14 13 2550 58 6 1.36
1929–30Portland BuckaroosPCHL36 20 10 6 2160 34 16 0.94
1929–30Springfield IndiansCan-Am4 1 3 0 240 8 0 2.00
1930–31Portland BuckaroosPCHL35 12 15 8 2100 61 6 1.74
1931–32Bronx TigersCan-Am33 16 13 4 2040 74 4 2.184 0 1 1 130 5 0 2.31
1932-33New York RangersNHL48 23 17 8 2970 107 3 2.168 6 1 1 488 13 2 1.60
1933-34New York RangersNHL48 21 19 8 2990 113 7 2.272 0 1 1 120 2 1 1.00
1934-35New York RangersNHL10 3 7 0 610 37 1 3.64
1934–35Philadelphia ArrowsCan-Am1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00
1934–35Portland BuckaroosNWHL21 11 4 6 1260 40 5 1.903 1 2 0 180 4 1 1.33
1935–36Portland BuckaroosNWHL40 18 14 8 2520 68 5 1.623 1 2 0 190 5 0 1.58
1936–37Spokane ClippersPCHL1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00
1936–37Portland BuckaroosPCHL40 22 13 5 2400 72 7 1.803 3 0 0 180 3 0 1.00
1937–38Portland BuckaroosPCHL42 16 18 8 2620 85 5 1.952 1 1 0 120 4 0 2.00
1938–39Seattle SeahawksPCHL1 60 3 0 3.00
1938–39Portland BuckaroosPCHL48 31 9 8 2880 114 9 2.385 4 1 0 300 10 1 2.00
1939–40Portland BuckaroosPCHL40 17 18 5 2400 98 4 2.455 1 4 0 300 17 0 3.40
1940–41Portland BuckaroosPCHL1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00
NHL totals106 47 43 16 6570 257 11 2.3510 6 2 2 608 15 3 1.48

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andy Aitkenhead, The best goalie you've never heard of.. Nitzy's Hockey Den. 14 February 2011. October 12, 2010.
  2. Web site: Andy Aitkenhead. All Time Roster. New York Rangers. 14 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714180522/http://rangers.nhl.com/club/atrplayer.htm?id=8449787. 2011-07-14. dead.
  3. Web site: Andy Aitkenhead. Hockey Reference.com. 14 February 2011.
  4. Web site: John Ross Roach . All Time Roster . New York Rangers . 14 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714180527/http://rangers.nhl.com/club/atrplayer.htm?id=8450103 . 14 July 2011 .
  5. Web site: 1932-33 NHL Season Leaders. Hockey Reference.com. 14 February 2011.
  6. Web site: Andy Aitkenhead. Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com. 14 February 2011.
  7. Web site: 1933-34 NHL Season Leaders. Hockey Reference.com. 14 February 2011.
  8. Web site: 1933-34 NHL Season Summary. Hockey Reference.com. 14 February 2011.
  9. Book: 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters . Russ . Cohen . John . Halligan . Adam . Raider . . 978-0470736197 . 2009 . February 3, 2020. 18.
  10. Web site: Andy Aitkenhead - Hockey . Oregon Sports Hall of Fame . 15 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727152800/http://www.oregonsportshall.org/andy_aitkenhead.html . 27 July 2011 .