Andy Aitkenhead

Andrew Aitkenhead (March 6, 1904 – October 21, 1968) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the NHL. Born in Glasgow, Aitkenhead came to Canada as a young child with his family, and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Andy Aitkenhead
Born (1904-03-06)March 6, 1904
Glasgow, Scotland, GBR
Died October 21, 1968(1968-10-21) (aged 64)
Multnomah County, Oregon, USA
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New York Rangers
Playing career 1926–1940

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.[2] 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 Final.[4] In his first two seasons in New York, Aitkenhead played in every single game for the Rangers,[1] 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.[2][6] He posted a shutout in the clinching game, in overtime, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[2] 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.[1] He played only 10 games that season.[2] Kerr later said that Aitkenhead's obsession with his game were what got to him, and led to his departure from the NHL.[6] 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]

Trivia

Regular season career statistics
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1928-29 Springfield Indians CAHL 40 13 14 13 2550 58 6 1.36
1929-30 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 36 20 10 6 2160 34 16 0.94
1930-31 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 35 12 15 8 2100 61 6 1.74
1931-32 Bronx Tigers CAHL 33 16 13 4 2040 74 4 2.18
1932-33 New York Rangers NHL 48 23 17 8 2970 107 3 2.16
1933-34 New York Rangers NHL 48 21 19 8 2990 113 7 2.27
1934-35 New York Rangers NHL 10 3 7 0 610 37 1 3.64
1934-35 Philadelphia Arrows CAHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00
1934-35 Portland Buckaroos NWHL 21 11 4 6 1260 40 5 1.90
1935-36 Portland Buckaroos NWHL 40 18 14 8 2520 68 5 1.62
1936-37 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 40 22 13 5 2400 72 7 1.80
1936-37 Spokane Clippers PCHL 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00
1937-38 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 42 16 18 8 2620 85 5 1.95
1938-39 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 48 31 9 8 2880 114 9 2.38
1938-39 Seattle Seahawks PCHL 1 n/a 60 3 0 3.00
1939-40 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 40 17 18 5 2400 98 4 2.45
1940-41 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00
NHL totals 106 47 43 16 6570 257 11 2.35

Playoff career statistics
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1929-30 Springfield Indians CAHL 4 1 3 0 240 8 0 2.00
1931-32 Bronx Tigers CAHL 4 0 1 1 130 5 0 2.31
1932-33 New York Rangers NHL 8 6 1 1 488 13 2 1.60
1933-34 New York Rangers NHL 2 0 1 1 120 2 1 1.00
1934-35 Portland Buckaroos NWHL 3 1 2 0 180 4 1 1.33
1935-36 Portland Buckaroos NWHL 3 1 2 0 190 5 0 1.58
1936-37 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 3 3 0 0 180 3 0 1.00
1937-38 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 2 1 1 0 120 4 0 2.00
1938-39 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 5 4 1 0 300 10 1 2.00
1939-40 Portland Buckaroos PCHL 5 1 4 0 300 17 0 3.40
NHL totals 10 6 2 2 608 15 3 1.48
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See also

References
  1. "Andy Aitkenhead, The best goalie you've never heard of". Nitzy's Hockey Den. October 12, 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  2. "Andy Aitkenhead". All Time Roster. New York Rangers. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  3. "Andy Aitkenhead". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  4. "John Ross Roach". All Time Roster. New York Rangers. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  5. "1932-33 NHL Season Leaders". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  6. "Andy Aitkenhead". Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  7. "1933-34 NHL Season Leaders". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  8. "1933-34 NHL Season Summary". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  9. Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470736194. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  10. "Andy Aitkenhead - Hockey". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
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