Pat Price (ice hockey)
Shaun Patrick Price (born March 24, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Vancouver Blazers and the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars.
| Pat Price | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 24, 1955 Nelson, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Vancouver Blazers New York Islanders Edmonton Oilers Pittsburgh Penguins Quebec Nordiques New York Rangers Minnesota North Stars | ||
| NHL Draft |
11th overall, 1975 New York Islanders | ||
| WHA Draft |
1st overall, 1974 Vancouver Blazers | ||
| Playing career | 1974–1988 | ||
Career
Born in Nelson, British Columbia, Price was a highly-touted junior star with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), scoring 95 points – despite being a defenceman – in the 1973–74 WCHL season. In the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, Price was drafted number one overall by the Vancouver Blazers. The WHA had trouble holding onto its draft picks, who often went to the more established NHL teams, but the Blazers landed the untested rookie with a contract offer of $1.3 million (${{Inflation|CA|1.3|1974|r=1|fmt=c}7} million today).
Price did not meet the Blazers' expectations, scoring 34 points in the 1974–75 WHA season, and he went to the NHL after being drafted 11th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. Price spent most of that season in the minor leagues, as he learned the professional game.
Price became an NHL regular in 1976–77, and played three seasons with the Islanders before he was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft.
Despite the original expectation that he should be a scoring defenceman with Vancouver in his rookie season, Price grew to be a balanced professional, playing 726 total NHL games over 13 seasons, scoring 43 goals and 218 assists before retiring in 1988.[1]
Retirement
After retiring, Price returned to his hometown of Nelson, British Columbia. In the early 2000s, Price became a volunteer coach of a local junior hockey team and led them to the Provincials in their 1997–98 season.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1970–71 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 66 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 56 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1971–72 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 66 | 10 | 48 | 58 | 85 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 25 | ||
| 1972–73 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 67 | 12 | 56 | 68 | 134 | 16 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 24 | ||
| 1973–74 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 68 | 27 | 68 | 95 | 147 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | ||
| 1974–75 | Vancouver Blazers | WHA | 68 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Islanders | NHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Fort Worth Texans | CHL | 72 | 6 | 44 | 50 | 119 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Islanders | NHL | 71 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | NHL | 52 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Islanders | NHL | 55 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||
| 1979–80 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 75 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 134 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 1980–81 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 59 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 193 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 13 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 21 | ||
| 1981–82 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 77 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 322 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | ||
| 1982–83 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 38 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1983–84 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 72 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 188 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1984–85 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 68 | 1 | 26 | 27 | 118 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 51 | ||
| 1985–86 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 54 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 82 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1986–87 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 47 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | ||
| 1987–88 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 726 | 43 | 218 | 261 | 1456 | 74 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 195 | ||||
References
- "Pat Price player profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
External links
| Preceded by Clark Gillies |
New York Islanders first round draft pick 1975 |
Succeeded by Alex McKendry |
| Preceded by Bob Neely |
WHA First Overall Draft Pick 1974 |
Succeeded by Claude Larose |
| Preceded by Colin Campbell |
Vancouver Blazers first round draft pick 1974 |
Succeeded by Denny McLean |