Paul Baxter
| Paul Baxter | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 28, 1955 Winnipeg, MB, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Played for | Quebec Nordiques Pittsburgh Penguins Calgary Flames Cleveland Crusaders |
| 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 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played from 1979 to 1987, and has served as a National Hockey League (NHL) assistant coach for eleven seasons. He was coaching the Wenatchee Wild in the NAHL before his firing in late November 2010.[1] He was to be taking over the Wichita Falls Wildcats as head coach, general manager, and partner as of May 1, 2011.
Playing career
The Cleveland Crusaders drafted Baxter in the first round, 11th overall, of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft. The following year he was drafted into the NHL (third round; 49th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played a year in the NHL representing the Quebec Nordiques, as well as three years with the Penguins and another four with the Calgary Flames. Baxter spent prior time with teams in the NAHL and WCHL. He retired from the NHL after 470 games, recording a total of 48 goals, 121 assists, 169 points, and 1564 penalty minutes. Paul is the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the WHA with 962, and is also the single-season leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins with 409 during the 1981–82 season.
Paul Baxter continued his career as a coach, leading the IHL's Salt-Lake Golden Eagles to the championship title in '87-'88. He would go on to become the assistant coach of multiple NHL clubs.
Coaching history
- 1987–89: Salt-Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) head coach
- 1989–92: Calgary Flames (NHL) assistant coach
- 1992–95: Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) assistant coach
- 1995–97: Saint John Flames (AHL) head coach
- 1997–2000: San Jose Sharks (NHL) assistant coach
- 2001–03: Florida Panthers (NHL) assistant coach
- 2006-08: HIFK SM-liiga (Finland) head coach
- 2008-10: Wenatchee Wild (NAHL) head coach
- 2011–present: Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) head coach
Awards and achievements
- “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
Career statistics
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Winnipeg Jets | WCHL | Statistics unavailable | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1973–74 | Winnipeg Monarchs | WCHL | 63 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 384 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Cape Codders | NAHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Syracuse Blazers | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 67 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 201 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | 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 | ||||
References
External links
- Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
- Paul Baxter's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Paul Baxter's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Paul Baxter’s biography at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
| Preceded by Bob Francis |
HIFK head coach 2006–2008 |
Succeeded by Kari Jalonen |