Nov.6-Darryl Edestrand

Here's the first of my catching up birthday posts.

Darryl Edestrand

Coming out of a successful junior career with the London Knights, defenseman Darryl Edestrand began his pro hockey career with the Rochester Americans of the AHL in 1965. He also played part of the year with the London Nationals of the OHA.

Edestrand, like many other fringe players in the mid 1960s, was happy to see expansion come along in 1967 when the NHL immediately went from six teams to 12. Edestrand landed his first NHL job with one of those new clubs, the St. Louis Blues, appearing in 12 games. He spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, save two games he played with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1969-70.

By the early 1970s, the NHL grew to 14 teams, with the inclusion of the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks, which, by extension, opened up more NHL jobs. Edestrand joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1971-72. Midway through the 1973-74, Edestrand was sent to the powerhouse Boston Bruins. The team made it to the Stanley Cup finals that year, and Edestrand dressed for 16 playoff games.

Edestrand remained with the Bruins for almost five years before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the 1977-78 season. He stayed with the Kings for two years before being sent to the minors. He retired as a pro hockey player after the 1979-80 season, where he had played with the AHL's Binghampton Dusters.