Born October 18th, 1955 in Quebec City Canada, Roy Halpin was a product of the major junior hockey system, where he played with the Quebec Ramparts.
Between 1975 and 1980, he played for the University of Moncton Blue Eagles, the University of Toronto Blues and Concordia Stingers and at the same time earned degrees in all three of his academic fields. In 1979, he was offered a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but opted to continue his studies at Concordia in Sports Administration.
Halpin, as a member of the Concordia Stingers, played his first games in Britain in an international tournament staged in Dundee in 1980. He must have liked what he saw on his first visit, for after one season in Japan playing with Snow Brand Sapporo he returned in September 1981 to join the Dundee Rockets.
For the next three seasons, the Rockets with Halpin, nicknamed ‘Hammer,’ playing a major part, scooped every piece of silverware on offer and he was selected to the All Star A-team each year. Roy Halpin broke a long-standing British Premier League record on April 4th, 1982 when he scored fourteen goals in one Northern League game, against the Durham Wasps. In 83/84, he set new all-time British records for goals (128), assists (106) and points (234), and was voted Player of the Year by both the Ice Hockey Writers Association and the Heineken Hotline. Disappointingly the following season, a persistent back injury forced him to retire at the age of 29 with his final game being a televised visit to Nottingham on January 12th 1985. That game ended in a 1-1 tie, but the point he scored that night meant Roy Halpin had scored 100 points or more in each of his four seasons with Dundee.
Before returning to his native Canada, he set up what was hoped would be a lasting memorial to his time in Britain – the highly successful ‘Sport Goofy’ under-16 international tournament. Upon returning across the Atlantic and despite earlier in his career expressing a wish to become a fishing pro after hockey, Roy Andrew Halpin put his degree in Sports Administration to full use becoming a full-time tournament coordinator and subsequently a director for the Canadian Open Tennis Championships, as well as managing a year round tennis and concert facility in Montreal.
Roy Halpin’s injury shortened career in Britain spanned just four seasons, with his statistics reading impressively:
GP 122 Goals 343 Ass 293 Pts 636
Compiled with research, provided by Martin C.Harris – 1986.
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