Glen Wesley made his mark on the Carolina Hurricanes in his time here. Find out where the Cup Champion is today.
A 3rd-overall draft by the Boston in 1987, Glen Wesley made his presence known early on, tallying 31 points his rookie year and being named to the 1988 All-Rookie Team. During his seven year stint with the Bruins, Wesley would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals twice-falling to the Edmonton Oilers both times. Once with Boston, and once with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In the 1994-1995 offseason, the Whalers were under new management, having just been purchased from a guy named Peter Karmanos (I will withhold further comments) and freshly hired head coach Jim Rutherford (Again. Biting my tongue here) had just selected Jeff O’Neil (So much tongue biting going on over here) as his first round pick.
Surprisingly, (Or not?) Rutherford made a risky decision and traded Hartford’s ’95/’96/’97 first round picks to Boston in exchange for the speedy redheaded defenseman. In 48 games played for Hartford his first year, Wesley accumulated just 16 points. Little did he know his time in Connecticut would be cut short in just two seasons time.
With Hartford’s organization folding and Carolina’s NHL chapter beginning in 1997, Wesley stayed consistent in his play until 2002 where he played in his 3rd Stanley Cup Final, ultimately falling again to Detroit.
In 2006, Wesley once again got his chance to play for the Cup, facing the same team that had shut him down in the Finals TWICE before: Edmonton. This time was different as he was finally able to help the Canes break through and secure their first professional title in any North Carolina sport. After riding the high of being a champion, Wesley finally hung up his skates after the 2007-2008 season.
In February 2009, crowds watched as Glen’s number was raised to the rafters, ironically in front of his original team, the Bruins. After taking a year off to relax, Wesley was appointed to be the head of defensive development for the Hurricanes in 2010. Today, Wesley remains in that role albeit with a different team as he has taken his knowledge of the game to Missouri and is a defensive development coach for St Louis
Now for some fun facts! Who doesn’t love fun facts? Wesley ranks #27 all-time for most NHL games played with 1,487. He is #82 all-time for on-ice goals for (1572) and #34 for on-ice goals against (1504.) Wesley also has a brother, Blake, who played in the NHL and his son, Josh, was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2014. Josh currently plays for the Maine Mariners in the ECHL.
For the remainder of the Hurricanes franchise, no other player with ever wear #2. Wesley’s contributions to the locker room and on the ice will be remembered every home game the Canes play in. All it takes is a quick look to the rafters to be reminded of one of the greats.
CC Readers: What’s your favorite Glen Wesley moment? Mine is him reaching around Cam Ward with his stick in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals to save a puck that was halfway on the goal line that had slipped through.