Doug Kirton

Doug Kirton
Date of birth	March 21, 1966
place of birth	Elmvale , Ontario , Canada
size	188 cm
position	striker
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1986 , 12th lap, 236th position New Jersey Devils
Career stations
1989-1990	Colorado College
1991-1997	EHC Straubing
1997-2000	Frankfurt Lions
2000-2001	EV Landshut Greenville Grrrowl

Douglas Kirton (born March 21, 1966 in Elmvale , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player . During his career he played in Germany with the Frankfurt Lions in the German Ice Hockey League , as well as with EHC Straubing and EV Landshut .

Career

Kirton has played ice hockey since childhood, at the age of 15 he already played for Orillia Travelways in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, with which he won the Canadian Junior Championship three times. As a 20-year-old was selected in the twelfth round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft in 236th place by the New Jersey Devils . After the draft, he moved to Colorado College , for whose team he ran for four years in the National Collegiate Athletic Association . After attending college, he wore the jersey of the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds in the East Coast Hockey League in several games .

In 1991 Kirton came to Germany, originally to go on vacation and visit former teammates Mike Alexander and Chris Anderson. Anderson was under contract with EV Dingolfing at the time , Alexander played for EHC Straubing . During the holiday, which was initially planned for six weeks, the striker also played at EHC Straubing in the Regionalliga. Kirton played alongside his former strike partner Mike Alexander, quickly got used to the larger ice surface and extended his stay in Bavaria. In his first season, the right-shooter was top scorer with 138 points in 40 games, and the team was also able to celebrate the championship and promotion to the major league. In 1993, the Canadian Ed Zawatsky came to Straubing through the mediation of Kirton, both of whom had already played together at college. Kirton and Zawatsky formed a successful storm duo, for four years the Canadians were at the top of the scorer list of the EHC Straubing.

1997 Doug Kirton moved to the Frankfurt Lions in the German Ice Hockey League . Lions coach Bernie Johnston had signed the right-shooter as his dream player and turned the winger into a defender. The Canadian played in Frankfurt for three years, in 1998 and 1999 he reached the play-off semi-finals with the team. In 2000 Kirton returned to Lower Bavaria, after being mediated by Ed Zawatsky, he was on the ice for EV Landshut in the 2000/01 season . Then the right-shooter went back to North America and played alongside his younger brother Scott in the Greenville Grrrowl in the ECHL. Kirton ended his active career in 2001 at the age of 35.

In 2003 the Canadian was assistant coach for the University of Washington team . In 2005 he returned to the ice and played for Sapporo Polaris in Japan . Since 2007, Kirton tutor for hockey and skating in Renton in the US state Washington .

In recognition of his contribution to ice hockey in Straubing, his jersey number was banned in 2000. The # 11 worn by Kirton is no longer awarded, a banner was hung under the stadium roof in honor of Kirton.

Achievements and Awards

• 1992 German regional league champion and South German champion with the EHC Straubing
• 2000 Award as best foreign player of all time from the EHC Straubing

Career statistics

				Regular season						Play-offs
season	team	league		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM
1984/85	Orillia Travelways	OJHL
1985/86	Orillia Travelways	OJHL		46	34	45	79	158		-	-	-	-	-
1986/87	Colorado College	NCAA		38	10	10	20th	42		-	-	-	-	-
1987/88	Colorado College	NCAA		31	11	17th	28	42		-	-	-	-	-
1988/89	Colorado College	NCAA		38	8th	16	24	33		-	-	-	-	-
1989/90	Colorado College	NCAA		37	19th	21st	40	47		-	-	-	-	-
1991/92	EHC Straubing	RL		40	77	61	138	44		-	-	-	-	-
1992/93	EHC Straubing	OIL		45	43	51	94	115		-	-	-	-	-
1993/94	EHC Straubing	OIL		46	45	61	106	111		-	-	-	-	-
1994/95	EHC Straubing	1. Lg		46	37	39	76	64		-	-	-	-	-
1995/96	EHC Straubing	1. Lg		46	41	52	93	75		-	-	-	-	-
1996/97	EHC Straubing	1. Lg		59	37	69	106	120		-	-	-	-	-
1997/98	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		48	5	11	16	91		-	-	-	-	-
1998/99	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		51	8th	11	19th	57		-	-	-	-	-
1999/2000	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		47	5	7th	12	91		5	0	0	0	6th
2000/01	EV Landshut	OIL		16	2	6th	8th	48		-	-	-	-	-
2000/01	Greenville Grrrowl	ECHL		45	6th	12	18th	42		-	-	-	-	-
DEL total				146	18th	29	47	239		5	0	0	0	6th

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; ¹  play-downs / relegation )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ snokinghockey.com: Sno-King Hires Doug Kirton to be New Hockey Director (English)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of May 22, 2009.  
2. ↑ tigershockey.de: Günter Lupzig, Douglas Kirton and Olle Öst immortalized in the stadium

Web links

• Doug Kirton at eurohockey.com
• Doug Kirton at hockeydb.com (English)