Pat Price

Pat Price
Date of birth	March 24, 1955
place of birth	Nelson , British Columbia , Canada
size	187 cm
Weight	89 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Right
Draft
WHA Amateur Draft	1974 , 1st lap, 1st position Vancouver Blazers
NHL Amateur Draft	1975 , 1st round, 11th position New York Islanders
Career stations
1970-1974	Saskatoon Blades
1974-1975	Vancouver Blazers
1975-1979	New York Islanders
1979-1981	Edmonton Oilers
1981-1983	Pittsburgh Penguins
1983-1987	Québec Nordiques
1987	New York Rangers
1987-1988	Minnesota North Stars

Shaun Patrick "Pat" Price (born March 24, 1955 in Nelson , British Columbia ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (defender) who worked for the New York Islanders , Edmonton Oilers , Pittsburgh Penguins , Québec Nordiques , New York Rangers from 1974 to 1988 and Minnesota North Stars in the National Hockey League and played for the Vancouver Blazers in the World Hockey Association .

Career

As a junior with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Canada Hockey League , he was the dominant young defender of his time. Not infrequently he was referred to as the coming Bobby Orr .

It was the Vancouver Blazers who picked him up in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft with the first draft right of the first round. Due to an age restriction, Price was not eligible for the NHL Amateur Draft until the following year. The Blazers tried to sign him as soon as possible and offered him a $ 1.3 million contract, incredibly well paid for a rookie , that he couldn't turn down.

Even before the start of the season he took part in the WHA All-Stars training camp for the Summit Series in 1974 , but could not prevail for the squad at the games against the Soviet Union . In the WHA he had a regular place due to his advance praise, but disappointed all along the line because he could not even come close to meeting the expectations placed in him.

In the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft , the New York Islanders selected him in the first round in eleventh place. The Blazers were happy that he moved to New York because of his expensive contract. His performance was not enough in the 1975/76 season to prevail in the NHL. He played only four games that year for the Islanders and mostly played for the Fort Worth Texans in the Central Hockey League . After four years with the Islanders that were unsatisfactory for both sides and led to a series of arguments with coach Al Arbor , Price described the years as lost time and asked for a move. This request came before the Edmonton Oilers , because they brought him in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft from the Islanders.

He stayed with the Oilers for almost two seasons before moving to the Pittsburgh Penguins . In the middle of the 1982/83 season a move to the Quebec Nordiques followed . Shortly after he switched, he had major health problems. Triggered by a viral disease, he suffered from life-threatening encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). After recovering from illness, he had the most solid time of his career. At the end of his career, he moved in the 1986/87 season for 19 games to the New York Rangers , before they gave him in exchange for Willi Plett to the Minnesota North Stars . During these years he also played on the farm teams at the Fredericton Express in the American Hockey League and the Kalamazoo Wings in the International Hockey League .

If you add the playoffs, Price played 800 games in the NHL. He has been a solid defender in his 13 seasons. At no point in his career was he able to confirm the expectations that he had sparked due to his outstanding performance as a junior.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	13	726	43	218	261	1,456
Playoffs	11	74	2	10	12	195

Sporting successes

Personal awards

• WCHL First All-Star Team: 1974
• Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy : 1974

Web links

• Pat Price at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Pat Price at hockeydb.com (English)