- Garth Snow
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
image_size =
position =Goaltender
played_for =Quebec Nordiques
Philadelphia Flyers
Vancouver Canucks
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Islanders
caught = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 200
nickname = Snowman, Snowy,
Snowplow, Sea Bass,
Norm, The Blizzard, Costanza
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1969|7|28
birth_place = Wrentham, MA
draft = 114th overall
draft_year = 1987
draft_team =Quebec Nordiques
career_start = 1994
career_end = 2006Garth E. Snow (born on
July 28 , 1969 in Wrentham,Massachusetts ) is a retired professionalice hockey goaltender and is currently the general manager for theNew York Islanders of theNational Hockey League .Playing career
Garth Snow was drafted by the
Quebec Nordiques out ofMount Saint Charles Academy in the sixth round of the1987 NHL Entry Draft . He went straight to theUniversity of Maine for four years and for three straight years led the NCAA in wins. After helping lead the school to a 42–1–2 record and the NCAA Championship in 1993, he was named to the All-Tournament team. After spending the majority of 1993–94 playing for the United States National Team which included playing in the1994 Winter Olympics , he turned to his professional career, seeing his first NHL action in five games for the Nordiques.Snow recorded 32 wins in 62 games for the
Cornwall Aces of the AHL during 1994–95. After the Quebec franchise relocated to Colorado, Snow was traded to thePhiladelphia Flyers for two draft picks during the off-season. Garth would back up veteranRon Hextall for over two seasons and would alternate with Hextall during the Flyers' run to theStanley Cup Finals in 1997, most notably playing in Game 2 of the Finals. Near the trade deadline in 1997–98, he was traded to theVancouver Canucks forSean Burke .It was as a Canuck that Garth Snow enjoyed his best season in 1998–99, registering career highs in game played (65), wins (20), and shutouts (6). However, his workload was cut in half the following season and he signed with the
Pittsburgh Penguins prior to 2000–01. His stay in Pittsburgh lasted only one season as he signed with theNew York Islanders in the off-season. He would remain an Islander for the rest of his career, primarily as a backup to veteranChris Osgood and then youngsterRick DiPietro .Throughout his career, Snow was the target of the league office on several occasions over his goaltending equipment, in particular his shoulder pads, which opposing teams accused of violating league rules on size. Also, according to former teammate
Mike Peca , Garth Snow was the best trash-talker. "He's got such a wit and sense of humor like no other. Snow says things that will cut you without being rude or obnoxious." (The Hockey News,August 30 ,2002 ). Snow was regarded as a leader both on and off the ice.Islanders General Manager
On
July 18 ,2006 , Snow officially confirmed his retirement and was namedGeneral Manager of the New York Islanders following Neil Smith's dismissal after 41 days on the job. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=171632&hubname= TSN : NHL - Canada's Sports Leader ] ] There was much criticism directed the Islanders way for firing a Stanley Cup winning GM after such a short tenure in favor of Snow, who at the time of his hiring held no experience in management. Defenders of the organization pointed to Snow's Master’s Degree in Administration and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from theUniversity of Maine . [http://www.newyorkislanders.com/team/coach.asp?id=20] In his first season, Snow earned praise for making smart moves to open up space under the salary cap and using the space to trade forMarc-André Bergeron ,Richard Zednik andRyan Smyth . Snow was named NHL Executive of the year for 2006–2007 bySports Illustrated . [http://www.newyorkislanders.com/pressbox/archive.asp?id=1476]Awards
*1992
Hockey East Second All-Star Team
*1993Hockey East Second All-Star Team
*1993 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
*1993 NCAA ChampionshipUniversity of Maine Career statistics
Regular season
Post season
International career
Played for United States in:
* 1993–94 National Team
*1994 Winter Olympics
* 1998 World ChampionshipsReferences
External links
*hockeydb|5073
*legendsofhockey|18387###@@@KEY@@@###succession box | before = Neil Smith | title =
General Managers of the New York Islanders | years = 2006-Present| after = Incumbent
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