Brit Selby: 1965-66 NHL Calder Trophy Winner With The Toronto Maple Leafs

Howie Meeker, Kent Douglas and Brit Selby. Three players to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as members of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three players to have their NHL careers mostly fizzle out after the high expectations that come with winning the top rookie honours.

Selby won the Calder in 1965-66 after a stellar junior career in the OHA with the Toronto Marlboros. He would never quite make his mark after that.

Junior and Minor Pro

NHL Career

Hockey Card Collection

WHA Career

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Brit Selby – Junior and Minor Pro

Brit Selby played for the Toronto Marlboros from 1960-61 to 1964-65. However, he played in just two games his first year and three in his second before securing a regular spot with the club in 1962-63.

The 1963-64 Marlboros placed first overall in the OHA Junior ‘A’ during the regular season. In the Robertson Cup playoffs, Toronto met up with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and won the series and the championship. At the Memorial Cup finals, it was the ever-present Edmonton Oil Kings as Toronto’s opponents. The Marlies swept the series and were crowned Major Junior hockey champions for Canada.

The following year, the team was good but Selby was great. Over 52 regular season games, Brit scored 45 and assisted on 43 for 88 points. He tied for seventh in OHA goal scoring with Andre Lacroix of the Peterborough Petes. Selby was named the league’s First Team All-Star left winger. The Marlboros once again reached the Robertson Cup finals but fell to the Niagara Falls Flyers.

After his Calder Trophy winning season with the Maple Leafs in 1965-66, Selby took a step back the following season, appearing in just six games with Toronto while playing most of the year in the WHL with the Vancouver Canucks.

Selby’s only other stint in the minors came in 1971-72. Traded to the St. Louis Blues by Toronto, Brit played minimally with the NHL Blues while spending most of his season in the Central Hockey League with the Kansas City Blues.

Brit Selby – NHL

Brit Selby’s first National Hockey League action came in 1964-65 while still a junior with the Marlboros. Selby appeared in three games that year, posting a respectable two goals. The following year, he appeared in 61 of Toronto’s 70 regular season games, scoring 14 and assisting on 13 for 27 points. As mentioned, he earned the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie player.

Brit Selby Collection

Selby played 350 regular season games in the NHL between 1964-65 and 1971-72, appearing with the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues. Over that time, he scored 55 and assisted on 62 for 117 points. Brit also appeared in 16 Stanley Cup playoffs games with just a goal and assist to show for it.

During his career, Selby had two separate stints with the Maple Leafs. The Philadelphia Flyers picked him up in the fifth round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 27th overall. The Flyers kept him for a few years then traded him back to Toronto.

Brit Selby – WHA

When the World Hockey Association opened for business in 1972-73, Brit Selby jumped at the chance to play major league hockey again after almost a full season in the CHL. He started the year with the Quebec Nordiques but six games in, he switched sides to the New England Whalers. New England placed first overall in the 12 team league and won the Avco World Trophy with a victory over Bobby Hull and the Winnipeg Jets in the finals.

The following year, Selby was back in Toronto, this time with the Toronto Toros. The Toros did well in 1973-74 and advanced to the semi-finals before losing to the Chicago Cougars. Brit played for the Toros in 1974-75, his final season of pro hockey, but the team was not nearly as successful.

Over 153 regular season World Hockey Association games between 1972-73 and 1974-75, Selby recorded 23 goals and 51 assists for 74 points. In the playoffs, he played 23 more games, adding 11 points.

Brit Selby – Rookie Card

The Brit Selby rookie card appears as number 18 in the 1966-67 Topps set. The first Brit Selby hockey card is valued as a common and shows him as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The set is better known for the Bobby Orr rookie card, the 1966-67 Calder Trophy winner with the Boston Bruins.

Selby’s final NHL card appears in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set and he is shown with the St. Louis Blues. He played just six games with the Blues that season, his last games in the NHL. His only appearance on WHA cardboard came in the 1973-74 Quaker Oats collection. On that card, he is shown in the New England Whalers jersey he wore in 1972-73 but is a member of the Toronto Toros, his team for 1973-74.

Brit Selby Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1960-61	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	2	0	0	0	0
1961-62	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	3	1	1	2	0
1963-64	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	48	24	28	52	0
1964-65	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	52	45	43	88	0
1964-65	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	3	2	0	2	2
1965-66	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	61	14	13	27	26
1966-67	Vancouver Canucks	WHL	15	5	1	6	12
1966-67	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	6	1	1	2	0
1967-68	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL	56	15	15	30	24
1968-69	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL	63	10	13	23	23
1968-69	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	14	2	2	4	19
1969-70	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	74	10	13	23	40
1970-71	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	11	0	1	1	6
1970-71	St. Louis Blues	NHL	53	1	4	5	23
1971-72	St. Louis Blues	NHL	6	0	0	0	8
1971-72	Kansas City Blues	CHL	63	11	24	35	82
1972-73	Quebec Nordiques	WHA	7	0	1	1	4
1972-73	New England Whalers	WHA	65	13	29	42	48
1973-74	Toronto Toros	WHA	64	9	17	26	21
1974-75	Toronto Toros	WHA	17	1	4	5	0
	NHL Totals		347	55	62	117	171
	WHA Totals		153	23	51	74	73