Born: March 13, 1952 - Charlottetown
Position: Defense
Height: 6.00
Weight: 192
Peter Williams junior hockey experience was a memorable one. From 1968-71 the offensive minded defenseman patrolled the blue line for the powerful Charlottetown Islanders of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. In Williams final year with the team they made it all the way to the Centennial Cup, now the Royal Bank Cup, championship game losing in a heartbreaking 4-2 game to the Red Deer Rustlers. In his last year of junior eligibility he played for the UPEI Panthers were he put up a respectable 19 points in 27 games. Retired Hall of Fame goalie Johnny Bower, a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was impressed by Williams play and on June 1972 Tulsa Oilers GM Ray Miron informed Peter that the Leafs had drafted him with their 8th round, 123rd overall pick. This would be the highlight of Williams’s hockey career.
Prior to the 1972 NHL season Williams was invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp where he signed his first pro contract worth $15 000 year with $6 000 in signing bonuses. The Leafs sent him to the Tulsa Oilers where he played the full 72/73 season garnering only 14 points while adjusting to the new level of play. The following season he followed Toronto’s farm team when they moved to Oklahoma City and were renamed the Blazers. After only one year with the Blazers William’s career with the Maple Leafs organization came to an end.
In 1974 Peter was recruited by Forbes Kennedy to play with the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Hockey League. Playing with fellow Islanders Jamie Kennedy, Bob MacGuigan and Don MacAdam he enjoyed an exceptional season racking up 36 assists and 42 points. After one more year with the Polar Twins Williams retired from pro hockey. He returned to PEI and played senior hockey in Charlottetown until hanging up his skates for good.
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