Paul Mara
Mara with the Canadiens in March 2011.
Born (1979-09-07) September 7, 1979
Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Tampa Bay Lightning
Phoenix Coyotes
Boston Bruins
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Anaheim Ducks
National team  United States
NHL Draft 7th overall, 1997
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 1999–2013

Paul Richard Mara (born September 7, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey defender, and current head coach of the Boston Pride in the PHF (formerly NWHL).

He was selected 7th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, and went on to play 12 seasons in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Mara played in the 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the South Shore.[1]

After playing two seasons of high school level hockey in Massachusetts for Belmont Hill School[2] Paul Mara joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League for the 1996–97 season. As part of a three team trade with the Windsor Spitfires Mara was traded to the Plymouth Whalers on December 16, 1997.[3] In reflecting on his move from high school to Junior hockey Mara said, "It was the best decision of my life, to go up to Sudbury."[4]

Professional

Mara was drafted in the first round, 7th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.[5] He spent two seasons between the Lightning and their IHL affiliate team the Detroit Vipers before being traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2001. He played 81 games with the Coyotes in 2003-04. During the 2004 NHL lockout, Mara joined the Hannover Scorpions of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

After the lockout, Paul Mara scored a career high 47 points that year. On June 26, 2006, he was traded by the Coyotes to the Boston Bruins for fellow defenseman Nick Boynton.[3]

On February 27, 2007, Mara was traded to the New York Rangers for Aaron Ward.[3] On July 4, 2008, Mara re-signed with the Rangers for one year at $1.95 million.

On July 10, 2009, Mara signed with the Montreal Canadiens.[6]

On September 16, 2010, Mara signed with the Anaheim Ducks for one year at $750,000. After appearing in 33 games with the Ducks to start the 2010–11 season, on February 16, 2011, Mara was traded by the Ducks to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2012 5th round draft pick. He took a brief break from hockey during the 2011-12 season.

On September 26, 2012, Mara signed a one-year contract with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL.[7]

On January 9, 2013, Mara signed with the Houston Aeros after the team became short on defensemen due to a combination of injuries and the end of the NHL lockout.

Mara with the Rangers in 2008.

Coaching career

Mara was the assistant coach of the 2018 Olympic United States women's national ice hockey team.[8] On May 30, 2018, Mara was named head coach of the PHF's (formerly NWHL) Boston Pride.[9] He is currently the head coach with the most wins in PHF history, and one of only two coaches to win more than 30 games.[10] Mara became the first coach in PHF history to win 50 games in November 2022.[11]

Personal life

Mara was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey and despite his birthplace, he is of no relation to the family of Wellington Mara, who were known for their ownership of the NFL's New York Giants. Mara was raised in Belmont, Massachusetts.

His older brother, Rob Mara, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in eleventh round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.[12]

International play

Mara was a member of the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 United States World Junior Championship teams. He also played for the United States at the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95Belmont Hill SchoolHS-Prep285172228—————
1995–96Belmont Hill SchoolHS-Prep2818203840—————
1996–97Sudbury WolvesOHL449344361—————
1997–98Sudbury WolvesOHL258182679—————
1997–98Plymouth WhalersOHL258152330153141730
1998–99Plymouth WhalersOHL521341549511571228
1998–99Tampa Bay LightningNHL11120—————
1999–2000Detroit VipersIHL1535822—————
1999–2000Tampa Bay LightningNHL547111873—————
2000–01Detroit VipersIHL1033622—————
2000–01Tampa Bay LightningNHL466101640—————
2000–01Phoenix CoyotesNHL1604414—————
2001–02Phoenix CoyotesNHL75717245850004
2002–03Phoenix CoyotesNHL7310152578—————
2003–04Phoenix CoyotesNHL816364248—————
2004–05Hannover ScorpionsDEL355131889—————
2005–06Phoenix CoyotesNHL7815324770—————
2006–07Boston BruinsNHL593151895—————
2006–07New York RangersNHL19235181022418
2007–08New York RangersNHL6111617521001120
2008–09New York RangersNHL76516219471128
2009–10Montreal CanadiensNHL4208848—————
2010–11Anaheim DucksNHL3311240—————
2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL200444810000
2012–13Ontario ReignECHL281171875—————
2012–13Houston AerosAHL361101189501118
NHL totals 734 64 189 253 776 33 3 4 7 50

International

Medal record
Representing  United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2004 Prague
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1997 Geneva
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1997 United States WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 0 0 0 0
1998 United States WJC 5th 7 1 1 2 6
1999 United States WJC 8th 6 1 4 5 22
2004 United States WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9 1 2 3 8
Junior totals 19 2 5 7 28
Senior totals 9 1 2 3 8

References

  1. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  2. ↑ "NHL Player Bio - Paul Mara". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "NHL Player Search - Paul Mara". Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  4. ↑ Finder, Chuck (17 June 1997). "Blue line special - Defenceman Paul Mara is top rated American in NHL draft". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. B4. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "1997 NHL Entry Draft". The Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Aintabi, Elie (10 July 2009). "Paul Mara Signs $1.9 Million Deal With Montreal Canadiens". bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  7. ↑ Hendrick, Laura. "Reign Sign NHL Veteran to Blue Line". Ontario Reign. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Paul Mara Named Head Coach of Boston Pride". 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Press Release (30 May 2018). "USNT's Paul Mara Named Head Coach of the Boston Pride". NWHL.zone. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Boston Pride sign GM Karilyn Pilch, head coach Paul Mara to multi-year contracts". 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Paul Mara becomes the first coach in PHF history to hit 50 games". 23 November 2022. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "1994 NHL Entry Draft". The Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
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