Bill Armstrong (ice hockey, born 1966) explained

Bill Armstrong
Birth Date:25 June 1966
Birth Place:London, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lb:195
Position:Left wing
Shoots:Left
Played For:NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
AHL
Hershey Bears
Utica Devils
Albany River Rats
IHL
Cincinnati Cyclones
Indianapolis Ice
Detroit Vipers
Grand Rapids Griffins
Orlando Solar Bears
Kansas City Blades
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:1989
Career End:1998

William Harold Armstrong (born June 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.

Early life

Armstrong was born in London, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from London, Ontario.[1] Armstrong played at Western Michigan University from 1986 to 1989.

Career

Armstrong played in one National Hockey League (NHL) game for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1990–91 NHL season and spent the rest of his professional career in the American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). His playing career was cut short due to a brain tumor which required surgery.[2]

He invented a move he called a "high wrap", a lacrosse-style shot he successfully used to score goals starting in the 1993–94 AHL season with the Albany River Rats. The move was later notably used by fellow London, Ontario-born player Mike Legg, who learned it while playing shinny with Armstrong at their hometown arena during the off-season.[3] Legg scored a goal with the Michigan Wolverines, in the high profile 1996 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournamentas compared to the "maybe only 3,000 people [...] in the building" at a River Rats gameearning the move the name "Michigan goal" in the United States.[3] The high wrap / lacrosse-style goal / Michigan goal (names used interchangeably in reporting) later gained further attention when used by Sidney Crosby, Miks Indrašis, Mikael Granlund,[3] Andrei Svechnikov, Trevor Zegras, Kent Johnson and Connor Bedard.

Career statistics

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
1984–85London DiamondsOHA-B43172138102
1985–86London DiamondsOHA-B4126234981
1986–87Western Michigan BroncosCCHA4313203386
1987–88Western Michigan BroncosCCHA4122173988
1988–89Western Michigan BroncosCCHA4023194297
1989–90Hershey BearsAHL581061699
1990–91Philadelphia FlyersNHL10110
1990–91Hershey BearsAHL703627631506281019
1991–92Hershey BearsAHL6426224818662246
1992–93Cincinnati CyclonesIHL4214112599
1992–93Utica DevilsAHL3218213960
1993–94Albany River RatsAHL74325082188
1994–95Albany River RatsAHL7632477911513651120
1995–96Albany River RatsAHL1034722
1995–96Indianapolis IceIHL1245913
1995–96Detroit VipersIHL54342559661262815
1996–97Grand Rapids GriffinsIHL3518939
1996–97Orlando Solar BearsIHL3442529551036929
1997–98Orlando Solar BearsIHL62191837106
1997–98Kansas City BladesIHL914524502211
NHL totals10110

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA. 2018. Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2019-01-15. 2019-03-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf. dead.
  2. Web site: Bill Armstrong Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Salary, Title . Hockey-Reference.com . October 17, 2023.
  3. News: The coolest goal ever scored in hockey . 2010-04-08 . Patrick . Hruby . ESPN . 2011-05-18.