Fred Williams (ice hockey)

Fred Williams
Born	July 1, 1956 (1956-07-01) Saskatoon, SK, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Detroit Red Wings
NHL Draft	4th overall, 1976 Detroit Red Wings
WHA Draft	26th overall, 1976 New England Whalers
Playing career	1976–1982

Frederick Richard Williams (born July 1, 1956 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a retired ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1976 NHL draft. Williams played in 44 games at the NHL level. He is the older brother of former NHL player Gord Williams.

Professional career

Junior hockey

Williams started out in the Western Canada Hockey League as a centre for the Saskatoon Blades in the 1971–72 season. He started slowly in his first two seasons with only 41 points in his first 121 games, but then he turned it up. The following seasons would see Williams scoring 36, 70, and 118 points including two trips to the playoffs, helping the Blades to the finals both times with 61 total playoff points. He was 6th in the league in assists with 87 during the 1975–76 season. This attracted the attention of the Detroit Red Wings, who decided to draft Williams with their first round pick in the 1976 NHL draft.

Moving up, then down

Williams started the 1976–77 season on the Rhode Island Reds of the American Hockey League but was called up the NHL on October 7, 1976. Expectations were high as Williams scored a goal in his debut game against the Washington Capitals.^{[citation needed]} However, Williams went on to score only six points in the remaining 43 games and was sent down to the Wings minor leagues for the following season. He continued to flounder while playing for the Kansas City Red Wings of the Central Hockey League, even trying to play as an defenceman, but was released at the end of the season. Williams decided to retire,^{[citation needed]} but was quickly pulled out of retirement by an offer from the Philadelphia Firebirds of the AHL on September 15, 1979. He played in 35 games for the Firebirds before being traded to the Maine Mariners. He played is final three seasons for the Mariners scoring 51, 55, and 32 points respectively. Williams retired after the 1981–82 season.

External links

• Fred Williams's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Fred's Bio on Hockey Draft Central.com

Preceded by Rick Lapointe

Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick 1976

Succeeded by Dale McCourt