Back in 1962-63, Howie Young shattered Lou Fontinato’s single season National Hockey League record for penalty minutes. It was a record that would stand until Keith Magnuson broke it in 1970-71 by 18 PIM. Over his career, he was the league leading bad boy in the NHL, QHL and WHL.
He fought with his demons but ultimately changed his ways on and off the ice, even having a comeback at 49 years old. Young reinvented himself later in his career, moving from defense to forward and showing he had some offensive skills.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Howie Young – Junior and Minor Pro
Howie Young played four years of major junior hockey in the predecessor to the Ontario Hockey League between 1954-55 and 1957-58. His first two years were spent with the Kitchener Canucks. When the Canucks moved east to become the Peterborough Petes for the 1956-57 season, Young didn’t move with the franchise.
Howie Young Collection
In his final two years of junior, Howie played for the Hamilton Tiger Cubs. The Tiger Cubs are the present day Erie Otters. Along the way, the franchise held many names, including the Hamilton Red Wings, Fincups and Steelhawks, along with the Brantford Alexanders and Niagara Falls Thunder.
He moved to pro hockey with a bang, leading the QHL in penalty minutes in his rookie season, 1958-59. Howie sat 180 minutes in 50 games with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. He also played four games that year for the New Westminster Royals of the WHL, accumulating another 26 PIM.
The following year, Young found himself in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans. He would never lead the AHL in PIM but came awful close in 1959-60 and 1960-61.
In 1959-60, Howie finished third in the AHL with 170 PIM over 68 games. The Amerks reached the Calder Cup finals before bowing to the Springfield Indians. However, Young did not see any post season action.
The following years, Young was still in the AHL but with the Hershey Bears. In just 33 games, he sat 160 minutes in the box, good for second in the league. Projected over a 72 game schedule, that would equal 349 PIM. He ended up in the NHL with the Red Wings for 29 games, sitting another 108 minutes. The Bears reached the finals but fell to those same Springfield Indians. Once again, Howie would not play in the Calder Cup post season.
After starting 1961-62 with Detroit, Young found himself back in the minors with the Edmonton Flyers of the WHL. He would get his first championship with the Flyers taking out the Spokane Comets in the finals for the Lester Patrick Cup.
Young wore the WHL’s heavyweight belt for the 1964-65 and 1965-66 seasons, spending both with the last place Los Angeles Blades. In 1964-65, he led with 227 PIM over 65 games. He also showed his modest offensive abilities with 30 points on ten goals and 20 assists.
In 1965-66, the league was cleaner and Howie led with 170 penalty minutes, 57 minutes less than the year before. The Blades were again a bust and Young would again not play in the post season.
1969-70 brought about a major shift for Young. Playing for the Rochester Americans in the AHL, he scored 17 and assisted on 20 in just 56 games. Surprisingly, he sat just 75 minutes in the box.
He would spend a lot of time in Phoenix towards the end of his career. In 1970-71, the Roadrunners lost in the Lester Patrick Cup finals to the Portland Buckaroos. He also appeared in eleven National Hockey League games with the Vancouver Canucks, his final days in the NHL.
After sitting out the entire 1971-72 season, Howie was back with Phoenix in 1972-73. His offensive numbers reached a new plateau with 20 goals and 38 assists over 71 games. He led the league with 223 penalty minutes. The Roadrunners won the championship with a win over the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the finals.
1973-74 was Howie Young’s swansong. Again with the Roadrunners, he scored 37 and assisted on 32 for 69 points over 71 games. He finished sixth in goal scoring while still appearing on the PIM leader board. However, this time he was just ninth with 124 minutes.
Those 1973-74 Roadrunners were once again Lester Patrick Cup champions. This time, it came with a win over the Portland Buckaroos in the finals. Young took home his first major individual honour, selected as a WHL First Team All-Star.
In 1985-86, at the age of 49, Howie Young made a courageous, or crazy, comeback. He appeared in seven ACHL games with the New York Slapshots and four more games in the IHL with the Flint Spirits.
Howie Young – NHL
Between 1960-61 and 1970-71, Howie Young appeared in 336 regular season National Hockey League games. Over that time, he scored 12 goals and assisted on 62 for 74 points while sitting 851 minutes in the penalty box. He shuffled back and forth between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks and also played a short stint with the Vancouver Canucks in their inaugural season.
Howie is best known for his 1962-63 season with the Detroit Red Wings. Young accumulated 273 PIM for an NHL record. The Previous record belonged to Lou Fontinato of the New York Rangers. Lou sat 202 minutes in 1955-56 while playing the full 70 game schedule.
Young’s record would stand until 1970-71, coincidentally his last year in the NHL. That year, Keith Magnuson of the Chicago Blackhawks was assessed 291 minutes in penalties.
In 1962-63, the Red Wings reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Howie appeared in eight of Detroit’s eleven playoff games. However, it wasn’t his first trip to the finals.
Young reached the NHL in 1960-61 with a loud bang. In just 29 games, he sat 108 minutes. With no goals, he added eight assists from the point. Howie appeared in all eleven playoff games for the Red Wings, scoring his first two NHL goals. The fourth place Red Wings lost to the third place Blackhawks in the finals.
Howie was dealt to Chicago in June, 1963 for Roger Crozier and Ron Ingram. At the time, Crozier had not played a single game in the NHL. Two years later, the acrobatic goalie was named the recipient of the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
Chicago shipped him back to the Red Wings on December 20, 1966 for Al LeBrun, Murray Hall and Rick Morris.
The Chicago/Detroit ping pong match continued at the end of the 1967-68 season. He was first traded from the Red Wings to the Oakland Seals on May 27, 1968 with Gary Jarrett, Doug Roberts and Chris Worthy for Bob Baun and Ron Harris. However, he would be picked up by the Blackhawks at the start of the 1968-69 NHL season, before playing a single game for the Seals.
As mentioned, his NHL career ended in 1970-71. He was picked up by the Vancouver Canucks for their first year in the league. Howie lasted just eleven games with the club.
Howie Young – WHA
Young started the 1974-75 season in the World Hockey Association with the Winnipeg Jets. He finished up that season with the Phoenix Roadrunners, his old team that switched leagues after winning the WHL title the year before.
Howie would play sparingly with the Roadrunners over the next two season. In all, he would appear in 98 games, scoring 17 and assisting on 25 for 42 points. His penalty minute total reached just 109 and he would not play a single game in the Avco World Trophy playoffs.
Howie Young – Rookie Card
The Howie Young rookie card appears as number 29 in the 1963-64 Topps NHL hockey card set. He is shown as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks after a trade from the Red Wings in the off season.
He would appear as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1967-68 Topps set. The following year, he was honoured with not one but two cards in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. Both those cards show him with the Blackhawks after his journey from Detroit, by way of California.
We take a look at Howie and two other players who were given two hockey cards in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. Take a look at the article here: 1968-69 OPC Duplicates.
Howie Young – Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1954-55 | Kitchener Canucks | OHA | 49 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 155 |
| 1955-56 | Kitchener Canucks | OHA | 28 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 40 |
| 1956-57 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 52 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 228 |
| 1957-58 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 40 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 163 |
| 1958-59 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens | QHL | 50 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 180 |
| 1958-59 | New Westminster Royals | WHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
| 1959-60 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 68 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 170 |
| 1960-61 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 33 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 160 |
| 1960-61 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 29 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 108 |
| 1961-62 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 67 |
| 1961-62 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 24 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 97 |
| 1962-63 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 273 |
| 1963-64 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 40 |
| 1963-64 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 39 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 99 |
| 1964-65 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 65 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 227 |
| 1965-66 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 44 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 170 |
| 1966-67 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 44 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 100 |
| 1966-67 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 29 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 43 |
| 1967-68 | Fort Worth Wings | CPHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 1967-68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 112 |
| 1968-69 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 57 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 67 |
| 1969-70 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 56 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 75 |
| 1969-70 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 44 |
| 1970-71 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 57 | 11 | 32 | 43 | 136 |
| 1970-71 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 |
| 1972-73 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 71 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 223 |
| 1973-74 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 71 | 37 | 32 | 69 | 124 |
| 1974-75 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 42 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 42 |
| 1974-75 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHA | 30 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 44 |
| 1976-77 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1976-77 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHA | 26 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 23 |
| 1977-78 | Phoenix Roadrunners | PHL | 39 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 63 |
| 1978-79 | Los Angeles Blades | PHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
| 1985-86 | New York Slapshots | ACHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 1985-86 | Flint Spirits | IHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 336 | 12 | 62 | 74 | 852 | ||
| WHA Totals | 98 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 109 |