Ian Turnbull

Ian Turnbull
Date of birth	December 22, 1953
place of birth	Montreal , Quebec , Canada
size	183 cm
Weight	91 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1973 , 1st round, 15th position Toronto Maple Leafs
WHA Amateur Draft	1973 , 6th lap, 70th position Vancouver Blazers
Career stations
1969-1972	Montréal Junior Canadiens
1972-1973	Ottawa 67's
1973-1981	Toronto Maple Leafs
1981-1982	Los Angeles Kings
1982-1983	Pittsburgh Penguins

Ian Wayne Turnbull (born December 22, 1953 in Montreal , Québec ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (defender) who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs , Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League from 1973 to 1983 .

Career

As a junior he played in the Ontario Hockey Association for the Montréal Junior Canadiens . Here he showed that he had great potential as an attacking defender. In the OHA, he switched to the Ottawa 67’s and played there with Denis Potvin for another year . In the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft , both were then selected in the first round. The rights to Turnbull were secured by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the fifteenth pick. He was also selected in the Draft of the World Hockey Association . Here the Vancouver Blazers got the rights in the sixth round in 70th place.

In the 1973/74 season he made the leap into the NHL and on the side of Borje Salming he was able to impress. His development was slowed down when he sustained a knee injury in a duel with Bob Plager of the St. Louis Blues . As a result, he played only 22 games in the 1974/75 season and was used to build up with the Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Hockey League .

After recovering, he was able to resume a role as a defender with a strong urge to move forward. In 1977 he started with a small crisis and remained a few games without a scorer point. He ended this negative streak on February 2, when he was able to score five goals in a 9-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings and thus set a record for defenders that is still valid today.

He played in Toronto until the beginning of the 1981/82 season, then he was given to the Los Angeles Kings . Here he was also temporarily deported to the farm team for the New Haven Nighthawks in the AHL . A year later he tried again with the Pittsburgh Penguins , but after only six appearances he hung up his skates at the end of the season.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	10	628	123	317	440	736
Playoffs	8th	55	13	32	45	94

Records

• 5 goals as defender in one game (February 2, 1977 in Toronto with the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings 9-1)

Web links

• Ian Turnbull at hockeydb.com (English)
• Ian Turnbull at legendsofhockey.net (English)