Alex Faulkner
First NHL player from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Selm Alexander Faulkner (May 21, 1936 – April 7, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first National Hockey League (NHL) player from Newfoundland and Labrador, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings from 1961 to 1964.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 21 May 1936
- Birthplace
- Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland
- Died
- 7 April 2025
- Position
- Centre
- Shoots
- Left
- Played for
- Toronto Maple Leafs; Detroit Red Wings
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Alex Faulkner grew up in Bishop's Falls, where he first played hockey on the Exploits River alongside his four brothers—Lindy, George, Seth, and Jack—and two sisters, Marie and Elizabeth. His father, Lester, was born in Bishop's Falls, and his mother, Olive, came from Point Leamington. On his father's side, his grandmother Svea was from Burträsk, Sweden, and his grandfather William from Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia. George, one of his brothers, became the first Newfoundlander to play professional hockey.
Playing career
Before the NHL, Faulkner starred in Newfoundland for the Conception Bay All Stars (Cee Bees), a team largely formed by his brother George, leading the league in goals and points for two seasons. His break came after an exhibition game in 1960 against a St. John's senior team coached by former Maple Leaf Howie Meeker, who recommended him to Toronto assistant general manager King Clancy. Faulkner practiced with the Leafs and signed with their AHL farm team, the Rochester Americans. In his second season there, he had 73 points in 65 games and was called up for one NHL game. Blocked at centre by Dave Keon, Red Kelly, Bob Pulford, and Billy Harris, Faulkner was left unprotected and claimed by the Detroit Red Wings in the Intra-League Draft on June 4, 1962. He played on Detroit's third line with Larry Jeffrey and Bruce MacGregor, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 70 games as a rookie. In the 1963 playoffs, with André Pronovost replacing Jeffrey, Faulkner scored 5 goals in 8 games, including three against Chicago's Glenn Hall in the semi-finals (two game-winners). The Red Wings eliminated the Black Hawks and reached the Stanley Cup finals against Toronto. Faulkner had two goals in Detroit's only win, including the game-winner. Newfoundland declared 'Alex Faulkner Day,' with schools closed for a parade and ceremony hosted by Premier Joey Smallwood, who gave Faulkner gold cuff links. A broken hand and ankle-ligament damage limited his 1963–64 season to 30 games. When Detroit asked him to start 1964–65 in the minors, he returned to Conception Bay for two seasons.
Career achievements
Faulkner first made his mark in 1953, winning the Veitch Memorial Trophy as a member of the Grand Falls Junior All-Stars, the first all-Newfoundland junior hockey champions, and also taking home the Pan-American Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. He went on to capture five all-Newfoundland senior titles: three Herder Memorial Trophies with the Grand Falls Andcos (1955, 1956, 1957) and two more with the Conception Bay CeeBees (1960, 1965), plus two senior 'B' championships with the Grand Falls Senior Bees (1956, 1957). In December 1961, he became the first Newfoundland-born player to skate in the NHL, appearing in a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him in 1994.
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