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Paul Baxter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the English footballer, see Paul Baxter (footballer).
Paul Baxter
Born (1955-10-28) October 28, 1955 (age 69)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Cleveland Crusaders
Quebec Nordiques
Pittsburgh Penguins
Calgary Flames
NHL draft 49th overall, 1975
Pittsburgh Penguins
WHA draft 11th overall, 1974
Cleveland Crusaders
Playing career 1974–1987

Paul Gordon Baxter (born October 28, 1955) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1979, the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1987. He featured in the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals with the Calgary Flames. He then worked as an assistant coach for eleven seasons.

Playing career

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Before his major league career, Baxter played junior ice hockey for Winnipeg in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association (WHA) drafted the Winnipeg-born Baxter in the first round as the 11th overall pick of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, and signed him that July.[1] The following year he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the third round as the 49th overall pick of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. Baxter joined the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA in 1976, and when the Nordiques joined the NHL, Baxter was made a priority selection by Quebec, preventing Pittsburgh from reclaiming him. He played a year in the NHL with the Nordiques, and later spent three years with the Penguins and another four with the Calgary Flames. He retired from the NHL after 470 games, recording a total of 48 goals, 121 assists, 169 points, and 1564 penalty minutes. Baxter is the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the WHA with 962,[2] and is also the single-season leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins with 409 during the 1981–82 season.[3]

Coaching career

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Baxter continued his career as a coach, joining the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League (IHL) to the Turner Cup title in 1987-88. He went on to become the assistant coach of multiple NHL clubs,[3] including the Calgary Flames when they won the 1989 Stanley Cup.[4]

Baxter coached the Wenatchee Wild of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) from 2008 until November 2010, leading the team to two division titles and a berth in the Robertson Cup in 2009.[5] He then went to the Wichita Falls Wildcats of the NAHL as head coach, general manager, and part owner in May 2011. He left his operational positions with the Wildcats in October 2016 while remaining part owner.[6] The team ceased operations at the end of the season.

Coaching history

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Personal life

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Baxter and his wife currently live in Tennessee. Baxter has four children.[3]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1972–73 Winnipeg Monarchs MJHL 44 9 22 31 359 — — — — —
1973–74 Winnipeg Clubs WCHL 63 10 30 40 384 — — — — —
1974–75 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 5 0 0 0 37 — — — — —
1974–75 Cape Codders NAHL 2 1 0 1 11 — — — — —
1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 67 3 7 10 201 3 0 0 0 10
1975–76 Syracuse Blazers NAHL 3 1 2 3 9 — — — — —
1976–77 Quebec Nordiques WHA 66 6 17 23 244 12 2 2 4 35
1976–77 Maine Nordiques NAHL 6 1 4 5 52 — — — — —
1977–78 Quebec Nordiques WHA 76 6 29 35 240 11 4 7 11 42
1978–79 Quebec Nordiques WHA 76 10 36 46 240 4 0 2 2 7
1979–80 Quebec Nordiques NHL 61 7 13 20 145 — — — — —
1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 51 5 14 19 204 5 0 1 1 28
1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 76 9 34 43 409 5 0 0 0 14
1982–83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 75 11 21 32 238 — — — — —
1983–84 Calgary Flames NHL 74 7 20 27 182 11 0 2 2 37
1984–85 Calgary Flames NHL 70 5 14 19 126 4 0 1 1 18
1985–86 Calgary Flames NHL 47 4 3 7 194 13 0 1 1 55
1986–87 Calgary Flames NHL 18 0 2 2 66 2 0 0 0 10
WHA totals 290 25 89 114 962 30 6 11 17 94
NHL totals 472 48 121 169 1564 40 0 5 5 162

Awards and achievements

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References

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  1. ^ "Crusaders Sign Baxter". The New York Times. 12 July 1974. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. ^ "WHA 30th Anniversary". courant.com. Hartford Courant. 2 March 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Molinari, Dave (7 May 2003). "Baxter joins Penguins' coach hunt". old.post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Baxter, Paul | Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame". mbhockeyhalloffame.ca. Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Wenatchee Wild names Rod Collins interim head coach". The Wenatchee Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  6. ^ "PAUL BAXTER OFFICIALLY LEAVES WICHITA FALLS". Wichita Falls Wildcats. October 17, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2017.[dead link]
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Preceded by HIFK head coach
2006–2008 		Succeeded by
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