Paul Baxter
| Paul Baxter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 28, 1955 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 |
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) 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.[1] He was coaching the Wenatchee Wild in the NAHL before his firing in late November 2010.[2] 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.[3] The team would cease operations at the end of the season. He and his wife currently live in Tennessee.
Playing career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 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. Baxter 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.
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
- 2011–14: Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) head coach
- 2014–16: Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) team president
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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 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 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Paul Baxter hockey statistics and profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ↑ "PAUL BAXTER OFFICIALLY LEAVES WICHITA FALLS". Wichita Falls Wildcats. October 17, 2016.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
| Preceded by Bob Francis |
HIFK head coach 2006–2008 |
Succeeded by Kari Jalonen |