Paul Shmyr

Paul Shmyr (born January 28, 1946 in Cudworth, Saskatchewan, Canada d. September 2, 2004 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) was a World Hockey Association and National Hockey League defenceman.

Playing career

Shmyr was one of the top defensive stars in the short history of the WHA, noted for his hard-nosed play, having jumped from the losing NHL California Golden Seals to the upstart Cleveland Crusaders. He played four seasons for Cleveland, garnering the league's top defenceman trophy in 1976. He subsequently played for the WHA's San Diego Mariners -- enjoying his best offensive campaign -- and played two years for the Edmonton Oilers, captaining the club to a regular season league championship in the WHA's final season.

After the WHA folded, the Minnesota North Stars, which owned his rights, reclaimed him, and as a noted leader, was named to captain the North Stars in 1979. While the Stars' captain, he led them to a semifinals appearance in 1980 and to the 1981 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the New York Islanders. He then signed with the Hartford Whalers as a free agent in 1981, and retired after one season.

Shmyr was named to the WHA's First All-Star Team in 1973, 1974 and 1976, and to its Second All-Star Team in 1979. He finished third in the WHA's career leaders for games played, twentieth in assists, and fourth in penalty minutes. He represented Canada at the 1974 Summit Series and was one of only two WHAers (the other being Bobby Hull) to be invited to try out for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup, though he failed to make the team.

Shmyr died of throat cancer in 2004; he was only 58.

Career statistics

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1966-67 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 70 3 19 22 91 11 3 3 6 191966-67 Vancouver Canucks WHL 1 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --1967-68 Dallas Black Hawks CPHL 70 5 15 20 73 5 0 0 0 01968-69 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 69 7 39 46 118 11 4 12 16 171968-69 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 3 1 0 1 81968-69 Portland Buckaroos WHL -- -- -- -- -- 1 0 1 1 01969-70 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 48 3 21 24 88 -- -- -- -- --1969-70 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 24 0 4 4 26 7 0 0 0 81970-71 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 57 1 12 13 41 9 0 0 0 171971-72 California Golden Seals NHL 69 6 21 27 156 -- -- -- -- --1972-73 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 73 5 43 48 169 8 1 3 4 191973-74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 78 13 31 44 165 5 0 4 4 311974-75 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 49 7 14 21 103 5 2 1 3 151975-76 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 70 6 44 50 101 -- -- -- -- --1976-77 San Diego Mariners WHA 81 13 37 50 103 7 0 2 2 81977-78 Edmonton Oilers WHA 80 9 40 49 100 5 1 3 4 111978-79 Edmonton Oilers WHA 80 8 39 47 119 13 1 5 6 231979-80 Minnesota North Stars NHL 63 3 15 18 84 14 2 1 3 231980-81 Minnesota North Stars NHL 61 1 9 10 79 3 0 0 0 41981-82 Hartford Whalers NHL 66 1 11 12 134 -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHA Totals 511 61 248 309 860 43 5 18 23 107 NHL Totals 343 13 72 85 528 33 2 1 3 52

ee also

*List of WHL seasons
*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons
*List of WHA seasons
*List of AHL seasons

External links

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