Paul Shmyr



Paul Shmyr (born January 28, 1946, in Cudworth, Saskatchewan, Canada, d. September 2, 2004, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) was a World Hockey Association and National Hockey League defenceman.

Playing career
Shmyr played junior hockey with the New Westminster Royals in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League in 1965-66 and 1966-67,

His rights belonged to the Chicago Black Hawks but he did not make the big club until 1969-70, He was traded to the California Golden Seals in 1971 but only played one season there. He jumped to the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972.

Shmyr was one of the top defensive stars in the short history of the WHA, noted for his hard-nosed play, having jumped from the losing NHL California Golden Seals to the upstart Cleveland Crusaders. He played four seasons for Cleveland, garnering the league's top defenceman trophy in 1976. He subsequently played for the WHA's San Diego Mariners -- enjoying his best offensive campaign -- and played two years for the Edmonton Oilers, captaining the club to a regular season league championship in the WHA's final season.

After the WHA folded, the Minnesota North Stars, which owned his rights, reclaimed him, and as a noted leader, was named to captain the North Stars in 1979. While the Stars' captain, he led them to a semifinals appearance in 1980 and to the 1981 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the New York Islanders. He then signed with the Hartford Whalers as a free agent in 1981, and retired after one season.

Shmyr was named to the WHA's First All-Star Team in 1973, 1974 and 1976, and to its Second All-Star Team in 1979. He finished third in the WHA's career leaders for games played, twentieth in assists, and fourth in penalty minutes. He represented Canada at the 1974 Summit Series and was one of only two WHAers (the other being Bobby Hull) to be invited to try out for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup, though he failed to make the team.

Shmyr died of throat cancer in 2004; he was only 58. He left his wife Diane and two sons Darren and Dean.

Career statistics
--- Regular season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1966-67 Fort Wayne Komets           IHL    70    3   19   22   91  11   3   3   6  19 1966-67 Vancouver Canucks           WHL     1    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1967-68 Dallas Black Hawks          CPHL   70    5   15   20   73   5   0   0   0   0 1968-69 Dallas Black Hawks          CHL    69    7   39   46  118  11   4  12  16  17 1968-69 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL     3    1    0    1    8 1968-69 Portland Buckaroos          WHL    --   --   --   --   --   1   0   1   1   0 1969-70 Dallas Black Hawks          CHL    48    3   21   24   88  --  --  --  --  -- 1969-70 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    24    0    4    4   26   7   0   0   0   8 1970-71 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    57    1   12   13   41   9   0   0   0  17 1971-72 California Golden Seals     NHL    69    6   21   27  156  --  --  --  --  -- 1972-73 Cleveland Crusaders         WHA    73    5   43   48  169   8   1   3   4  19 1973-74 Cleveland Crusaders         WHA    78   13   31   44  165   5   0   4   4  31 1974-75 Cleveland Crusaders         WHA    49    7   14   21  103   5   2   1   3  15 1975-76 Cleveland Crusaders         WHA    70    6   44   50  101  --  --  --  --  -- 1976-77 San Diego Mariners          WHA    81   13   37   50  103   7   0   2   2   8 1977-78 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    80    9   40   49  100   5   1   3   4  11 1978-79 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    80    8   39   47  119  13   1   5   6  23 1979-80 Minnesota North Stars       NHL    63    3   15   18   84  14   2   1   3  23 1980-81 Minnesota North Stars       NHL    61    1    9   10   79   3   0   0   0   4 1981-82 Hartford Whalers            NHL    66    1   11   12  134  --  --  --  --  -- --        WHA totals                        511   61  248  309  860  43   5  18  23 107 NHL totals                       343   13   72   85  528  33   2   1   3  52