Hockey player.
Born at Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario on 29 January 1945 to Lillian Horsfall and Frederick Stephenson, he moved with his family to Vancouver and Calgary before they settled in Winnipeg when he was a teenager. Here he attended Grant Park High School and played junior hockey with the Winnipeg Braves.
In spring of 1965, the Edmonton Oil Kings selected him as a roster addition in their unsuccessful challenge for the Memorial Cup. That fall, he joined the national team program run by Father David Bauer, a Basilian priest whose vision it was to forge a team of student athletes to represent Canada. However, Stephenson was cut from the roster just before the opening of the 1966 world championship at Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, in favour of Seth Martin, a 31-year-old veteran who had served as goalie in Canada’s most recent world championship in 1961.
However, on New Year’s Day, 1967, when the national team faced the Czechs in the opening game of a tournament to mark Canada’s Centennial, two goals got past starting goalie Ken Broderick, and Stephenson was called in. He played brilliantly in a comeback victory.
The two goalies shared duties at the 1968 Olympics held at Grenoble, France. Stephenson allowed a single goal in a 6-1 defeat of West Germany before shutting out the East Germans. But he surrendered two goals on five shots in the first period against the Americans and was pulled in favour of Broderick, who went on to complete the tournament. The final game settled the medal standings, as the Soviets pushed five shots past Broderick in a 5-0 drubbing for the gold medal. The Canadians took bronze.
In 1969, the Soviet national team came to Canada for an eight-city, eight-game tour, a precursor of the legendary Summit Series that would be held three years later. Here Stephenson shared goalie duties with Ken Dryden, who surrendered nine goals in a loss in Vancouver, while Stephenson responded by limiting the Soviets to a single goal in a victory in the next match at Victoria.
Stephenson was determined to win gold at the 1972 Olympics. Meanwhile, he studied economics at the University of Winnipeg, and along the way married fellow student Nedina Jordan in 1970, with whom he went on to have four children. After graduating, he worked as a chartered accountant. To stay in shape, he joined the Winkler Royals of the Southeastern Manitoba Hockey League, playing against amateur teams like the Oakville Seals and Altona Maroons.
In 1971, the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues signed him to a 30-day trial, allowing him to retain his amateur status and remain eligible for the 1972 Olympics. The Blues covered his living expenses, but did not pay a salary. However, because Canada ended up not participating in the 1972 Olympics due to a dispute over the use of professionals, he played for a time with the Kansas City Blues of the Canadian Hockey League. Back with the St. Louis Blues, he played with the team from 1972-1974, then joined the Philadelphia Flyers from 1974-1980. In his first full game with the Flyers, which took place in the 1974-75 semi-finals because the regular goalie, Bernie Parent, was sidelined due to an injury, Stephenson stopped all 21 shots he faced, leading to the Flyers winning, 4-0. After the game, he was mobbed by his teammates showing their admiration and appreciation. The Flyers went on to win the Stanley Cup that year. He finished his career with the Washington Capitals from 1979-1981. He also played in two All-Star Games in the NHL, and was the victorious goalie in a famous 1976 game pitting the Flyers against the Soviet Red Army team. Known for a quick glove hand and for being sharp in playing the angles when facing shooters, his teammates dubbed him “Fort Wayne.”
After retiring from professional hockey, he remained in the United States, working in the banking industry. He died at Madison, Wisconsin on 22 June 2010.
“Wayne Stephenson, hockey goalie,” Tom Hawthorn’s Blog, 28 August 2010.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 28 November 2025
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