• Upon graduation he was the leading all-time scorer for the Golden Bears, and he had set the team record for most goals in a single season with 49.
• First Team All-Star three times in Canada West and, when finished playing, was the leading all-time scorer in the conference.
• CIAU leading scorer in 1989, recognized as an All-Canadian and the most outstanding university hockey player in Canada.
• A member of the CIAU championship team in 1986 as well as the gold-medal-winning Spengler Cup team and the FISU team in 1987.
• Winner of the Wilson Challenge Trophy for Most Outstanding Athlete at the University of Alberta in 1989.

During the five years that Stacey played hockey for the Golden Bears, he was a dominant force among all forwards in Canadian University hockey. He developed his skills as a youth playing hockey in the interior of BC where his coaches and teachers stressed the importance of skating skills. By the time he as 14 years old, he had been identified as one of his home province’s most talented age-group players and was invited to attend special development programs. It was at one of these camps that Stacey met Coach Clare Drake. Clare had a keen eye for hockey talent and took the time to talk with Stacey. From that point on, Coach Drake maintained regular communication with Wakabayashi. After Stacey graduated from Peter Skene Ogden High School (100 Mile House, B.C) in 1982, he went on to play for the Vernon Lakers (a tier II Junior A team and Stacey promised his parents that he would try the Junior ranks of hockey for two years before deciding on his future. His success as a Tier II player gained him a promotion to the WHL and a place on the roster of the WHL champions Kamloops Jr. Oilers. Following the 1983-1984 season, Stacey made a decision that paid great dividends to the Golden Bear ice hockey program. Coach Drake’s on-going contact with Stacey paid dividends when he contacted him in the spring of 1984 and indicated his intention to attend the University of Alberta. This decision, and his outstanding play as a Golden Bear, earned him a place on the University’s Sports Wall of Fame.

Stacey joined a talented, well-coached team in 1984 but he added considerable depth to the Bears forward lines. His greatest strength was his superb skating skills, but he also had superior hand-eye coordination, an athletic phenomenon that coaches call “soft-hands” and the ability to see open ice and the great acceleration to get into it. Over the course of his five-year career as a Golden Bear, Stacey became the team’s all-time leading scorer in both overall play and in Canada West league play. The scoring statistics he accrued also won him the recognition of the Canada West All-Time leading scorer. Over the course of 121 games, he scored 107 goals, generated 143 assists for a total of 250 points for an average of 2.1 points per game. His overall average (all games including exhibition, league and playoff) was 1.8 points per game.

In a hockey program that is recognized as the best in the nation, Stacey still ranks first among all the Golden Bear players in career points, goals, assists, shorthanded goals (14), game winning goals (21), and ranks second in power play goals (49) and hat tricks (9). In his last season of play, Stacey set a Golden Bear record for most goals with 49.

During the five years that Stacey played for the Golden Bears, the team participated in the CIAU national championships four times. They finished as Canadian champions in 1986 and finished second in 1985. His outstanding play won him a berth on Canada’s gold medal winning Spengler Cup team in 1987 as well as a place on the roster of Canada’s FISU (World Student Games) team in that same year. Against outstanding world-class players, the team won the bronze medal.

Stacey Wakabayashi was highly regarded by university coaches across the nation. His talents won him Canada West First team All-Star recognition in 1986-1987, 1987-1988 and 1988-1989 as well as a position as a CIAU All-Canadian in 1988-1989 – the year that he was the CIAU leading scorer. The University of Alberta honoured this inductee in 1989 by naming him as its Outstanding Male Athlete; the winner of the Wilson Challenge Trophy. The CIAU named him as the recipient of the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the outstanding university player in Canada during the 1988-1989 season. Not to be outdone, Canada’s Hockey News also named Stacey as the CIAU Hockey Player of the Year for his excellent play during his last season. In Canada West an Award has been created by the UBC Hockey Alumni to go to the player in that league that best combines good sportsmanship and hockey talent. Not surprisingly, Stacey won this award in 1987-1988 and again in 1988-1989. A remarkable career for a young man from a small town in the interior of B.C.

Today Stacey, his wife, and their two children live in Prince George. After graduation, Stacey accepted a position as an elementary school teacher in Williams Lake. He taught there for two years and then moved further north to teach special education (his area of specialization) for three years in Prince George schools. For the next 9 years he moved back to the regular classrooms and this year has once again returned to the world of special education. Since leaving the University of Alberta, Stacey Wakabayashi has continued to promote and to be involved in community level sports by coaching minor hockey, teaching at hockey schools, maintaining community outdoor rinks where children can improve their skating and ice hockey skills, and by supporting his own children’s sporting endeavors. Husband, father, teacher, coach and ice hockey player extraordinaire – the University is proud to add the name of Stacey Wakakayashi to its Sports Wall of Fame.