Canadian Olympian and NHL goaltender Don Head (born June 30, 1933) made quite the impression in Portland during his three stints with the Buckaroos hockey team.
Head was a rising star as a Canadian junior player in the 1950s, winning the Pinkney Trophy for outstanding goalkeeper in 1953. He was in the nets for Team Canada at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA and earned a silver medal after Team USA upset the Canadians for the gold.
Head ended up being present for the beginning and final days of the Buckaroos, bookending his 16-year pro career. He signed with Portland for the team's first season and was an instant local favorite. In the 1960-61 season, he was named Western Hockey League Rookie of the Year and was selected for the all-star team as goalkeeper due to his 2.74 goals against average.
He was named to the WHL all-star team a league record five times (three 1st teams and two 2nd teams). He held the all-time WHL record for lowest goals against average with 2.87 for 407 games. Three times he was the WHL’s outstanding goalkeeper and two times he led the Buckaroos to the Lester Patrick Cup Championship (1961 and 1965).
After that sensational debut with the Bucks, Head was called up to the Boston Bruins but only won nine games playing half the season in net for the NHL's worst team. He returned to the WHL to stay, taking a brief detour to Seattle before one last season. That was 1975, the year the Buckaroos franchise folded.
Don's WHL longevity was impressive; 418 games (including 47 playoff games), 25,000 plus minutes played and 2.79 goals against average.