John Purves (ice hockey)

John Purves
Born (1968-02-12) February 12, 1968 (age 56)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Washington Capitals
ESV Kaufbeuren
Nottingham Panthers
NHL draft 103rd overall, 1986
Washington Capitals
Playing career 1983–2003

John Purves (born February 12, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played seven games in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals during the 1990–91 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1989 to 2003, was mainly spent in the minor leagues.

Early life

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Purves played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League before joining the Capitals organization in 1989.

Career

Purves was selected by the Capitals, 103rd overall, in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. He mostly played in the American Hockey League for the Baltimore Skipjacks but managed to play seven regular season games for Washington during the 1990–91 season, scoring one goal.

After playing in the Eishockey-Bundesliga in Germany for ESV Kaufbeuren, Purves spent the next eight seasons in the International Hockey League, remaining in the league until its closure in 2001. He played for the Fort Wayne Komets, San Francisco Spiders, Kansas City Blades, San Antonio Dragons and the Utah Grizzlies.

After the IHL's demise, Purves followed Utah to the AHL who were one of six IHL teams to join the league for the 2001–02 AHL season. In 2002, he moved to the United Kingdom and signed for the Nottingham Panthers of the Ice Hockey Superleague in his final season before retiring.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 North York Rangers OJHL 40 24 35 59 58
1984–85 Belleville Bulls OHL 55 15 14 29 39 12 0 3 3 2
1985–86 Belleville Bulls OHL 16 3 9 12 6
1985–86 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 36 13 28 41 36
1986–87 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 28 12 11 23 37 9 2 0 2 12
1987–88 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 64 39 44 83 65 14 7 18 25 4
1988–89 Niagara Falls Thunder OHL 5 5 11 16 2
1988–89 North Bay Centennials OHL 42 34 52 86 38 12 14 12 26 16
1989–90 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 75 29 35 64 12 9 5 7 12 4
1990–91 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 53 22 29 51 27 6 2 3 5 0
1990–91 Washington Capitals NHL 7 1 0 1 0
1991–92 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 78 43 46 89 47
1992–93 ESV Kaufbeuren GER 43 15 17 32 34
1993–94 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 69 38 48 86 29 18 10 14 24 12
1994–95 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 60 30 33 63 16 4 4 1 5 6
1995–96 San Francisco Spiders IHL 75 56 49 105 32 4 0 3 3 0
1996–97 Kansas City Blades IHL 66 25 47 72 17 3 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Kansas City Blades IHL 21 6 10 16 9
1997–98 San Antonio Dragons IHL 59 22 21 43 12
1998–99 Utah Grizzlies IHL 80 24 39 63 24
1999–00 Utah Grizzlies IHL 78 36 27 63 40 5 1 0 1 2
2000–01 Utah Grizzlies IHL 78 22 36 58 32
2001–02 Utah Grizzlies AHL 57 14 18 32 28 5 2 0 2 0
2002–03 Nottingham Panthers BISL 27 9 11 20 82 17 8 5 13 6
IHL totals 586 259 310 569 211 34 15 18 33 20
NHL totals 7 1 0 1 0

References