Rat Westwick

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Harry "Rat" Westwick (April 22, 1876 in Ottawa, Ontario - April 3, 1957) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Silver Seven.

Westwick, affectionately known as Rat due to his quick, elusive skating style, was a key contributor to the Silver Seven teams that won the Stanley Cup three times in the first decade of the 1900s. In the early part of his career Westwick was a goaltender, but was advised by one of his coaches, who noticed Westwick's superior skating and puckhandling skills, (he reportly made Bobby Orr look like a beginner) to switch to the more demanding role of Rover. Westwick's scrappiness led opponents to resort to aggressive (and somewhat violent) tactics in order to derail his tenacious playing style. After more than a dozen years on the Ottawa Silver Seven, Westwick played briefly for the Kenora Thistles in their unsuccessful defense of the Stanley Cup in 1907. After returning to Ottawa for one last season, Westwick retired.

Westwick later served as a referee in the National Hockey Association. He died in Ottawa on April 3, 1957.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

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