Pat Stapleton

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CanadaCanada  Pat Stapleton Ice hockey player
Pat Stapleton
Date of birth 4th July 1940
place of birth Sarnia , Ontario , Canada
date of death April 8, 2020
Place of death Strathroy , Ontario , Canada
Nickname Whitey
size 173 cm
Weight 82 kg
position defender
Shot hand Left
Career stations
1957-1958 Sarnia Legionnaires
1958-1960 St. Catharines Teepees
1960-1961 Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds
1961–1962 Boston Bruins
1962-1963 Kingston Frontenacs
1963-1965 Portland Buckaroos
1965-1973 Chicago Black Hawks
1973-1975 Chicago Cougars
1975-1977 Indianapolis Racers
1977-1988 Cincinnati stingers

Patrick James "Pat" Stapleton (born July 4, 1940 in Sarnia , Ontario , † April 8, 2020 in Strathroy , Ontario) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach . The defender played over 600 games for the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1961 and 1973 , where he led the Black Hawks as team captain in the 1969/70 season . He also completed another 372 games for the Chicago Cougars , Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). In addition, Stapleton was part of the Canadian national team , which prevailed at the 1972 Summit Series against the USSR . His son Mike Stapleton was also an ice hockey player and was active in the NHL for many years.

Career

Stapleton in 2012

As a junior he played with Stan Mikita at the St. Catharines Teepees in the Ontario Hockey Association . Here he was often the smallest player in the squad with his 1.72 m. Both the St. Catharines Teepees and his next team, the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds in the Eastern Professional Hockey League were farming teams for the Chicago Black Hawks .

In the Intra-League Draft 1961, in which the weaker teams were allowed to commit players of the strong teams who were only used in the farm team, the Boston Bruins committed Stapleton.

The Bruins gave him a probationary contract for 18 months. He played there from the 1961/62 season , but could not establish himself in the National Hockey League and was first sent back to the EPHL to the Kingston Frontenacs and later in the Western Hockey League to the Portland Buckaroos . During this time he often played as a center and was one of the stars of his teams.

The Toronto Maple Leafs brought him together with Andy Hebenton from the Bruins in June 1965, only to join the Chicago Black Hawks just one day later in the 1965 intra-league draft. He started the season in the Central Professional Hockey League with the St. Louis Braves , but soon made the leap to the NHL. Here he met some players with whom he had already played in his junior years.

In his first year with the Hawks, he was elected to the Second All-Star Team . Together with Bill White he formed one of the best defensive duos of his time. They were the backbone of the Hawks around 1970 and so they played together at the 1972 Summit Series . Stapleton was also on the ice when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal on the series.

For the 1973/74 season he moved together with Ralph Backstrom to the World Hockey Association for the Chicago Cougars . There he acted as player-coach and was voted the best defender in the league in his first season. With Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson, he was one of three players who were back in the 1974 Summit Series after 1972 . When the Cougars faced financial failure in the 1974/75 season , it was Pat Stapleton, Dave Dryden and Ralph Backstrom who took over the team. However, they failed to keep the team alive through the end of the season. He moved to the Indianapolis Racers for two seasons before playing the final season of his career with the Cincinnati Stingers .

In 2005 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Canadian Sports as part of the winning team of the 1972 Summit Series , as well as into the newly formed World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2010 .

Stapleton died on April 8, 2020 at the age of 79.

Achievements and Awards

Records

  • 6 assists as defender in one game (March 30, 1969; Chicago Black Hawks 9-5 Detroit Red Wings) (together with five other players)

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1957/58 Sarnia Legionaires PROBABLY 48 14th 31 45 24 - - - - -
1958/59 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 49 10 26th 36 18th 7th 0 0 0 6th
1959/60 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 47 12 35 47 83 17th 5 12 17th 32
1959/60 Buffalo bison AHL 1 0 0 0 2 - - - - -
1960 St. Catharines Teepees Memorial Cup 14th 5 9 14th 37
1960/61 Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds EPHL 59 5 43 48 22nd 12 1 8th 9 2
1961/62 Boston Bruins NHL 69 2 5 7th 42 - - - - -
1962/63 Boston Bruins NHL 21st 0 3 3 8th - - - - -
1962/63 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 49 10 26th 36 92 5 4th 2 6th 12
1963/64 Portland Buckaroos WHL 70 5 44 49 80 5 1 6th 7th 0
1964/65 Portland Buckaroos WHL 70 29 57 86 61 10 3 4th 7th 16
1965/66 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 55 4th 30th 34 52 6th 2 3 5 4th
1965/66 St. Louis Braves CPHL 14th 2 4th 6th 6th - - - - -
1966/67 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 3 31 34 54 6th 1 1 2 12
1967/68 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 67 4th 34 38 34 11 0 4th 4th 4th
1968/69 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 75 6th 50 56 44 - - - - -
1969/70 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 49 4th 38 42 28 - - - - -
1970/71 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 76 7th 44 51 30th 18th 3 14th 17th 4th
1971/72 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 78 3 38 41 47 8th 2 2 4th 4th
1972/73 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 75 10 21st 31 14th 16 2 15th 17th 10
1973/74 Chicago Cougars WHA 78 6th 52 58 44 12 0 13 13 36
1974/75 Chicago Cougars WHA 68 4th 30th 34 38 - - - - -
1975/76 Indianapolis Racers WHA 80 5 40 45 48 7th 0 2 2 2
1976/77 Indianapolis Racers WHA 81 8th 45 53 29 9 2 6th 8th 0
1977/78 Cincinnati stingers WHA 65 4th 45 49 28 - - - - -
OHA total 96 22nd 61 83 101 24 5 12 17th 38
EPHL overall 108 15th 69 84 114 17th 5 10 15th 14th
WHL overall 140 34 101 135 141 15th 4th 10 14th 16
NHL overall 635 43 294 337 353 65 10 39 49 38
WHA total 372 27 212 239 187 28 2 21st 23 38

International

Represented Canada to:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1972 Canada Summit Series 1st place 7th 0 0 0 6th
1974 Canada Summit Series 2nd place 8th 0 3 3 12
Men overall 15th 0 3 3 18th

( 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 )

WHA coach statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp S. N U Pt space Sp S. N result
1973/74 Chicago Cougars WHA 78 38 35 5 81 4th, Eastern 18th 8th 10 Defeat in the Avco World Trophy final
1974/75 Chicago Cougars WHA 78 30th 47 1 61 3rd, Eastern - - - not qualified
1978/79 Indianapolis Racers WHA 25th 5 18th 2 12 7th Withdrawal of the team during the season
WHA total 181 73 100 8th 154 0 division title 18th 8th 10 0 Avco World Trophies

( Legend for coach statistics: Sp or GC = total games; W or S = wins scored; L or N = losses scored; T or U = draws scored; OTL or OTN = losses scored after overtime or shootout ; Pts or Pkt = points scored ; Pts% or Pkt% = point rate; Win% = win rate; result = round reached in the play-offs )

Web links

Commons : Pat Stapleton  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ RIP Pat Stapleton: Strathroy star, Team Canada '72 legend, puck-mystery master. lfpress.com, April 8, 2020, accessed April 10, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Stapleton, Pat
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stapleton, Patrick James (full name); Whitey (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Sarnia , Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 2020
Place of death Strathroy , Ontario , Canada