Joe Mullen
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| Position | Forward |
| Shot | Right |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Pro Clubs | St. Louis Blues Calgary Flames Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Bruins |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | February 26, 1957, New York, NY, USA |
| Pro Career | 1979 – 1997 |
| Hall of Fame | 2000 |
Joseph Mullen (born February 26, 1957 in New York, NY) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Boston Bruins. He currently serves as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League
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[edit] Playing career
Growing up in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, Joe and his brother Brian grew up playing roller hockey in the streets of New York and were both able to make their way into the NHL, with Joe being much more successful. Mullen's break came when his brother Brian got a job as a stick boy for the New York Rangers. The Mullen boys caught the eye of Ranger head coach Emile Francis, who became their sponsor in his newly formed Metro Junior Hockey Association.
He won an athletic scholarship to Boston College. He had hoped to earn a spot on the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team (the Miracle on Ice team) but he decided to turn pro after his sophomore season instead. His father had become ill and Joe decided that he needed to support his family financially and could no longer afford to remain an amateur.
He entered the NHL Entry Draft but was not chosen. Scouts expressed concerns about his small size (5'9", 175 lb.) and his unorthodox training. He finally signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues where his old friend and mentor Emile Francis was now coaching.
In the following 16 seasons he would go on to score 502 goals and record 1,063 points in 1,062 NHL games. His list of accomplishments include three Stanley Cups (one with the Flames and two with the Penguins), a World Hockey Championship victory as a member of the American team, a berth on the NHL First All-Star team, inclusion to the Hockey Hall of Fame and United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, and retiring as the highest-scoring American ice hockey player ever. He was the first American-born NHL player to score 500 career goals and the first to record 1,000 career points.
He was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. Mullen spent time as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being named head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, a job he held from on December 20, 2005 to June 14, 2006. Joe currently resides in Upper St. Clair, PA.
His son Patrick, who grew up playing for the Pittsburgh Hornets and Upper St. Clair High School, began playing for the University of Denver in 2004.
[edit] Awards
- 1987 - Lady Byng Trophy
- 1989 - Lady Byng Trophy, NHL First Team All-Star
- 1995 - Lester Patrick Trophy
- 2000 - Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
[edit] Records
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1979-80 | St. Louis | NHL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1981-82 | St. Louis | NHL | 45 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 4 | ||
| 1982-83 | St. Louis | NHL | 49 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1983-84 | St. Louis | NHL | 80 | 41 | 44 | 85 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1984-85 | St. Louis | NHL | 79 | 40 | 52 | 92 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1985-86 | St. Louis | NHL | 48 | 28 | 24 | 52 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1985-86 | Calgary | NHL | 29 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 11 | 21 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 1986-87 | Calgary | NHL | 79 | 47 | 40 | 87 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1987-88 | Calgary | NHL | 80 | 40 | 44 | 84 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1988-89 | Calgary | NHL | 79 | 51 | 59 | 110 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 4 | ||
| 1989-90 | Calgary | NHL | 78 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1990-91 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 47 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 6 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 4 | ||
| 1991-92 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 77 | 42 | 45 | 87 | 30 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1992-93 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 72 | 33 | 37 | 70 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1993-94 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 84 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 41 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1994-95 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 45 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1995-96 | Boston | NHL | 37 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 54 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL Totals | 1062 | 502 | 561 | 1063 | 241 | 143 | 60 | 46 | 106 | 42 | ||||
[edit] International play
[edit] Trivia
- Mullen scored his 500th career goal against Patrick Roy at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado during a game between the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins on March 14, 1997.
[edit] See also
- List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Mike Bossy |
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1987 |
Succeeded by: Mats Naslund |
| Preceded by: Mats Naslund |
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1989 |
Succeeded by: Brett Hull |
| Preceded by: Brad McCrimmon |
Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award 1989 |
Succeeded by: Paul Cavallini |
Categories: 1957 births | American ice hockey players | Boston Bruins players | Calgary Flames players | Hockey Hall of Fame | Irish-American sportspeople | Lady Byng winners | Living people | People from Manhattan | National Hockey League 50-goal seasons | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | Pittsburgh Penguins players | St. Louis Blues players | Stanley Cup champions | Lester Patrick Trophy recipients | United States Hockey Hall of Fame
