Bobby Carpenter

Robert E. Carpenter Jr. (born July 13, 1963 in Beverly, Massachusetts) is a former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons from 1981–82 until 1998–99. In his NHL career that spanned 18 years, Carpenter played 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and 408 assists for 728 points. He has the distinction of being the first U.S. Citizen to be drafted into the National Hockey League directly out of high school, and the first U.S.-born hockey player to be selected within the top five picks of the NHL Draft. He is currently the Director of Program Development for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

Playing career
Selected third overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft out of St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, Carpenter was called the "Can't-Miss Kid" in the February 23, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated. During his first tour with the Capitals, he would have his best season statistics-wise during the 1984–85 NHL season when he scored 53 goals and 42 assists and was the first US born player to do so. He was invited to play in the 1985 NHL All-Star game and he also participated in the 1984 Canada Cup as a member of Team USA.

Primarily due to his clashes with head coach Bryan Murray, the Capitals traded Carpenter to the New York Rangers in the deal that sent Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller to Washington during the middle of the 1986–87 NHL season. Later in the season, he would be dealt again, this time to the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Marcel Dionne to the Rangers. He finished the 1986–87 season with the United States team at the 1987 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow after the Kings were knocked out in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. Carpenter represented the US nationals for the final time in the 1987 Canada Cup.

Carpenter was traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1988–89 NHL season, and a year later he would help guide the Bruins to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Interestingly enough, the Bruins defeated his former team the Capitals in the semifinals. By this time in his career, Carpenter was contributing more as a defensive-minded center than the high-scoring superstar that he was once projected to be.

Carpenter signed with the Capitals in 1992 and spent one season in his second tour with the team that originally drafted him. In 1993, he signed with the New Jersey Devils, where he would play for the final six seasons of his NHL career. It was during his time with the Devils that he would help the team win their first Stanley Cup in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. After retiring Bobby Carpenter stay on as an assistant coach winning two more cups with New Jersey in 2000, 2003.

Awards and achievements
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1985)