Bobby Carpenter (ice hockey)

Bobby Carpenter
Born (1963-07-13) July 13, 1963
Beverly, MA, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Washington Capitals
New York Rangers
Los Angeles Kings
Boston Bruins
New Jersey Devils
National team  United States
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 1981
Washington Capitals
Playing career 19811999

Robert E. Carpenter, Jr. (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons from 1981–82 until 1998–99. In his NHL career that spanned 18 years, Carpenter played 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and 408 assists for 728 points. He has the distinction of being the first American-born hockey player to be selected in the first round of the National Hockey League Draft, and the first player to play in the NHL directly from high school after being drafted. Carpenter was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, but grew up in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Playing career

Bobby Carpenter was selected third overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft out of St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts. In the February 23, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated, Carpenter was featured in a cover story that chronicled his potential.[1] He was the first U.S. born hockey player to be featured on the cover of SI. During his first tour with the Capitals, he would have his best statistical season during 1984-85 when he scored 53 goals and 42 assists and was the first US-born player to score 50 goals in a season. He was invited to play in the 1985 NHL All-Star game and he also participated in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments as a member of Team USA.

Primarily due to his clashes with head coach Bryan Murray, the Capitals traded Carpenter to the New York Rangers in the deal that sent Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller to Washington during the middle of the 1986–87 NHL season.[2] Later in the season, he would be dealt again, to the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Marcel Dionne to the Rangers. He finished the 1986–87 season with the United States team at the 1987 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow after the Kings were eliminated in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. Carpenter represented the US nationals for the final time in the 1987 Canada Cup.

Carpenter was traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1988–89 NHL season, and a year later he would help guide the Bruins to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. By this stage of his career, Carpenter was contributing more as a defensive-minded center than the high-scoring superstar whom he was once projected to be.

Carpenter signed with the Capitals in 1992 and spent one season in his second tour with the team that originally drafted him. In 1993, he signed with the New Jersey Devils, where he would play for the final six seasons of his NHL career. It was during his time with the Devils that he would help the team win their first Stanley Cup in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. After retirement, Bobby Carpenter stayed on as an assistant coach, winning two more cups with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.

Awards and achievements

His daughter Alexandra Carpenter played for Team USA Women's U-18 National Women's Hockey Team as just a sophomore in high school.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1981–82Washington CapitalsNHL8032356769
1982–83Washington CapitalsNHL803237696441012
1983–84Washington CapitalsNHL8028406851821325
1984–85Washington CapitalsNHL805342958751458
1985–86Washington CapitalsNHL80273956105954912
1986–87Washington CapitalsNHL22571221
1986–87New York RangersNHL28281020
1986–87Los Angeles KingsNHL10235651232
1987–88Los Angeles KingsNHL711933528451120
1988–89Los Angeles KingsNHL3911152616
1988–89Boston BruinsNHL1859141081124
1989–90Boston BruinsNHL802531569721461039
1990–91Boston BruinsNHL2988162210112
1991–92Boston BruinsNHL602523484680116
1992–93Washington CapitalsNHL681117286561456
1993–94New Jersey DevilsNHL76102333512017820
1994–95New Jersey DevilsNHL415111619171456
1995–96New Jersey DevilsNHL52551014
1996–97New Jersey DevilsNHL624151914101232
1997–98New Jersey DevilsNHL6699182261010
1998–99New Jersey DevilsNHL5628103670002
NHL totals 1178 320 408 728 919 140 21 38 59 136

Post-retirement

He is currently the Director of Program Development for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. His work for the Toronto Maple Leafs since the fall of 2009 consists of being a development coach for players from the time they were drafted into the organization until they turn professional, scouting US College and QMJHL hockey, and steering free agents Toronto's way.[4]

He lives with his wife and has three children, all of whom excel with sports. His oldest child, his daughter Alexandra Carpenter, is a member of the United States national women's hockey team, winning Olympic silver in 2014 and three women's world hockey championship gold medals. His middle and youngest child, both sons, play for their high school. [5]

See also

References

  1. Swift, E.M. (23 February 1981). "No Way They're Going To Hold Him Back". Sports Illustrated: 26–29. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  2. Finn, Robin (2 January 1987). "Rangers Get Carpenter from Capitals". New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  3. Weekes, Don (2004). The Unofficial Guide To Even More Of Hockey's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781553650621.
  4. Marc C. in the Toronto Star
  5. http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/x2109940419/Carpenter-creating-his-own-legacy-at-Austin-Prep

External links

Preceded by
Darren Veitch
Washington Capitals first round draft pick
1981
Succeeded by
Scott Stevens
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