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Paul Shmyr
Paul Shmyr
Born	January 18, 1946; Cudworth, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	September 2, 2004 (aged 58); Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Chicago Blackhawks; California Golden Seals; Cleveland Crusaders; San Diego Mariners; Edmonton Oilers; Minnesota North Stars; Hartford Whalers
National team	Canada
Playing career	1966–1982

Paul Shmyr (January 18, 1946 – September 2, 2004) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). He featured in the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals with the Chicago Black Hawks and the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars.

Playing career

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 NHL's 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, where he enjoyed 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. As captain, he elected to wear a Cyrillic "К" instead of the customary captain's "C" due to his Ukrainian heritage.^[1]^[2]

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 semifinal appearance in 1980 and to the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals, 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.

He was from a hockey-playing family; his younger brother John Shmyr also played in the WHA. Shmyr died of throat cancer in 2004, at the age of 58.^[3]

Honours

In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame.^[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1965–66	New Westminster Royals	BCHL	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	New Westminster Royals	M-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	4	2	0	2	9
1966–67	New Westminster Royals	BCHL	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Vancouver Canucks	WHL	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL	70	3	18	21	89	11	3	3	6	19
1967–68	Dallas Black Hawks	CPHL	70	5	15	20	73	5	0	0	0	0
1968–69	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	3	1	0	1	8	—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Dallas Black Hawks	CHL	69	7	39	46	118	11	4	12	16	17
1968–69	Portland Buckaroos	WHL	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	1	1	0
1969–70	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	24	0	4	4	26	8	1	2	3	0
1969–70	Dallas Black Hawks	CHL	48	3	21	24	88	—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Chicago Black Hawks	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	34	3	3	6	44

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1974	Canada	SS		7	0	2	2	6

References

^ "Paul Shmyr (a WHA all-time great) took to the ice… with a cyrillic "K" on his uniform celebrating his Ukrainian heritage". Retrieved February 3, 2022.
^ "[p. 322] dave dryden". 30 October 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
^ "Former NHL player Paul Shmyr dies". CBC News. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
^ "WHA Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2013-09-13.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Glen Sather	Edmonton Oilers captain 1977–79	Succeeded by Ron Chipperfield
Preceded by J. P. Parise	Minnesota North Stars captain 1979–81	Succeeded by Tim Young