Bobby Carpenter
Born (1963-07-13) July 13, 1963
Beverly, Massachusetts, U.S.
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 1981–1999

Robert E. Carpenter Jr. (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional ice hockey center who was recently head coach of Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Prior to that he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) 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 second American-born hockey player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft (Mike Ramsey was the first), 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

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] 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, Carpenter stayed on as an assistant coach, winning two more cups with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1978–79 St. John's Prep HS-MA 23233154— —————
1979–80 St. John's Prep HS-MA 33283765— —————
1980–81 St. John's Prep HS-MA 18163147— —————
1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 8032356769 —————
1982–83 Washington Capitals NHL 8032376964 41012
1983–84 Washington Capitals NHL 8028406851 821325
1984–85 Washington Capitals NHL 8053429587 51458
1985–86 Washington Capitals NHL 80273956105 954912
1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 22571221 —————
1986–87 New York Rangers NHL 28281020 —————
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 102356 51232
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7119335284 51120
1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 3911152616 —————
1988–89 Boston Bruins NHL 18591410 81124
1989–90 Boston Bruins NHL 8025315697 21461039
1990–91 Boston Bruins NHL 29881622 10112
1991–92 Boston Bruins NHL 6025234846 80116
1992–93 Washington Capitals NHL 6811172865 61456
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 7610233351 2017820
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 415111619 171456
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 52551014 —————
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 624151914 101232
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 66991822 61010
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 56281036 70002
NHL totals 1,178320408728919 140213859136

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1981 United States WJC 5 5 4 9 6
1984 United States CC 6 1 4 5 4
1987 United States WC 10 2 2 4 8
1987 United States CC 5 1 2 3 4
Senior totals 21 4 8 12 16

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 participate in sports. His oldest child, his daughter Alex Carpenter, is on PWHL New York and won Olympic silver in 2014 with the United States women's national ice hockey team, in addition to five IIHF Women's World Championship gold medals. His son Robert III "Bobo" had a 2 year entry level contract with the New York Islanders as of 2019 and played two seasons for their AHL affiliate. He scored his first AHL goal in the third period of his first game.[5] He now plays in the ECHL.

In 2016, Carpenter ran the Boston Marathon in three hours and 47 minutes, having taken up training for the event after leaving a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[6] In 2017 he ran the event a second time, pushing Denna Laing, women's hockey player who was paralyzed in the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic game, in a special racing wheelchair; they finished with a time of 4:32:30.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Swift, E.M. (23 February 1981). "No Way They're Going To Hold Him Back". Sports Illustrated. pp. 26–29. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  2. ↑ Finn, Robin (2 January 1987). "Rangers Get Carpenter from Capitals". The 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. pp. 240. ISBN 9781553650621.
  4. ↑ Marc C. in the Toronto Star
  5. ↑ University, Boston. "Go erriers". GoTerriers.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Friedman, Elliotte (January 24, 2017). "30 Thoughts: Hanzal talks stall between Canadiens, Coyotes". Sportsnet. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ex-hockey players Denna Laing, Bobby Carpenter finish Boston Marathon as team". ESPN. espn.com News Services. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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