A strong skating, rugged defenseman who enjoyed the physical side of hockey, Nigel Facey added exceptional determination and impressive leadership to the fine talent and skill he possessed. During a 15-year provincial senior career he was of great benefit to any team with which he played, always providing evident inspiration to his team mates and demonstrating a winning spirit that was of great value.

Utilizing accurate passing and shooting skills, working in a very rewarding fashion in the corners and along the boards, especially in the defensive zone, he was really effective in front of his own goal. His ability to clear the puck, either by passing or carrying, out of his own zone game-after-game, added to his overall performances.

Nigel Facey was as effective on the opponents’ blue line as he was in his own zone. His overall hockey and leadership qualifications often had him elected captain and it was in this role that he led Mike’s Shamrocks to the 1979 Herder in a thrilling upset over Gander Flyers.

After enjoying successful minor and school hockey careers in St. John’s, he moved into provincial senior ranks in 1970 and completed his career in 1987. He was a member of St. John’s Capitals teams that won the provincial senior title and the Herder Memorial Trophy in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. He added his fifth Herder with Mike’s Shamrocks in 1979.

In all he played 259 regular season games scoring 90 goals, drawing 173 assists for 263 points while serving 491 minutes in penalties. In 12 Herder playoffs, he had 15 goals to go with 35 assists for 50 points. Nigel Facey played in seven national Allan Cup playdowns with great personal success. He scored 12 goals and drew 18 assists for 30 points, good enough for sixth overall in Cup scoring.

During his full career, he always displayed a “team first” attitude that was important and contributed greatly to the excellent success that teams for which he played enjoyed. Nigel Facey was simply a great hockey player with a confident and intelligent approach to the game.