Glenn Anderson

Glenn Chris "Andy" Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.

Anderson was known for performing especially well in important games, which garnered him the reputation of a "money" player.

His five playoff overtime goals rank third in NHL history, while his 17 playoff game-winning goals put him fifth all-time.

During the playoffs, Anderson accumulated 93 goals, 121 assists and 214 points, the fourth, ninth and fourth most in NHL history.

Anderson is also first all-time in regular season game winning goals in Oilers history with 72.

At a young age, Anderson admired the European aspects of the game.

He was known to have a liking for participating in international tournaments, more so than his NHL contemporaries.

As a youth, he and teammate Ken Berry played in the 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Burnaby.

Growing up, Glenn played hockey with childhood friends, Andy Hill, the Berry boys, and Mike Fox, (who became an award winning actor).

Anderson's hockey idol was his favourite player, Russian Alexander Yakushev, whom he had watched during the 1972 Summit Series.

Anderson began his junior hockey career with the Bellingham Blazers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) during the 1977–78 season.

In 64 games, Anderson recorded 62 goals, 69 assists and 131 points, the third most goals and eighth most points in the league.

To top off his lone season in the BCJHL, he was named to the league's Second All-Star Team.

In 1978–79, Anderson was recruited to play for the hockey team of the University of Denver in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) by Marshall Johnston, the University team's head coach.

Anderson played in 41 games and led the team in points with 55.

When he was drafted by the Oilers in 1979, he chose to play for Team Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics instead of immediately joining the Oilers.

In the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Anderson was drafted 69th overall by the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He opted to play for Team Canada during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Father David Bauer, in charge of the national team program, accepted Anderson.

Father Bauer's influence on Anderson was significant as he would cite him as a major reason for his later success.

The team toured the world playing different opponents in preparation for the Olympics.

The practice Anderson received during this time helped "greatly improve" his skills.

Anderson scored four points in six games during the tournament.

The Canadian National Team program was discontinued in the Fall of 1980.

Anderson won gold at the 1984 and the 1987 Canada Cup and he was a silver medalist at the 1989 Ice Hockey World Championships.

During his NHL career, Anderson was part of six Stanley Cup winning teams (he won five as a member of the Oilers and one as a member of the Rangers) and he was a participant at four All-Star Games.

He is one of only seven Oilers players to have won all five Cups in franchise history.

In 1996 he played for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup Tournament, often referred to as the Stanley Cup of Europe.

Despite having the flu with a high fever, Glenn rallied as soon as his skates were laced and was voted unanimously as the MVP of the tournament.

They hoisted the Cup for Canada and took the lounging photo on the ice surrounding the Spengler Cup which was Glenn’s idea when the Oilers won their first cup and has since become a tradition.

Anderson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 10, 2008 and his jersey number, 9, was retired by the Oilers on January 18, 2009.

On December 11, 2023, Anderson was named Head Coach and General Manager of the Powell River Kings of the BCHL.

Anderson was born in Vancouver and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia.

His father, Magnus, was a Norwegian immigrant and his mother, Anne, was of Ukrainian origin.

He has two brothers (Allan and David) and a sister (Pam).

He is married to Susan Anderson and together they have a daughter, Autumn Anderson.

As a young child, Glenn did not enjoy the game of ice hockey.

His first ever goal was in his own net.

By the age of 12 he felt he had a gift and honed his skills as his love of the game increased with his joy of powerful skating.

Glenn eventually produced the one hour acclaimed documentary "To Russia With Love", released in September 2012, about the way Russia changed the Canadian ice hockey game.