Bobby Carpenter

Bobby Carpenter
Position	Center
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Teams	Washington Capitals New York Rangers Los Angeles Kings Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils
Nationality	USA
Born	(1963-07-13)July 13, 1963, Beverly, Massachusetts
NHL Draft	Round 1, 3rd overall, 1981 Washington Capitals
Pro Career	1981 – 1999

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)

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981–82	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	32	35	67	69		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	32	37	69	64		4	1	0	1	2
1983–84	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	28	40	68	51		8	2	1	3	25
1984–85	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	53	42	95	87		5	1	4	5	8
1985–86	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	27	39	56	105		9	5	4	9	12
1986–87	Washington Capitals	NHL		22	5	7	12	21		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	New York Rangers	NHL		28	2	8	10	20		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		10	2	3	5	6		5	1	2	3	2
1987–88	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		71	19	33	52	84		5	1	1	2	0
1988–89	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		39	11	15	26	16		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Boston Bruins	NHL		18	5	9	14	10		8	1	1	2	4
1989–90	Boston Bruins	NHL		80	25	31	56	97		21	4	6	10	39
1990–91	Boston Bruins	NHL		29	8	8	16	22		1	0	1	1	2
1991–92	Boston Bruins	NHL		60	25	23	48	46		8	0	1	1	6
1992–93	Washington Capitals	NHL		68	11	17	28	65		6	1	4	5	6
1993–94	New Jersey Devils	NHL		76	10	23	33	51		20	1	7	8	20
1994–95	New Jersey Devils	NHL		41	5	11	16	19		17	1	4	5	6
1995–96	New Jersey Devils	NHL		52	5	5	10	14		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	New Jersey Devils	NHL		62	4	15	19	14		10	1	2	3	2
1997–98	New Jersey Devils	NHL		66	9	9	18	22		6	1	0	1	0
1998–99	New Jersey Devils	NHL		56	2	8	10	36		7	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				1178	320	408	728	919		140	21	38	59	136

External links

• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Bob Carpenter's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Bob Carpenter's biography at Legends of Hockey