Claire Alexander
Encyclopedia
Claire Alexander is a Canadian
retired professional ice hockey
player who played in the National Hockey League
and World Hockey Association
in the 1970s.
players. After a brief stint in minor-pro hockey in the mid-1960s, he returned home to Ontario and took a job as a milkman
, while continuing to star with local senior amateur teams. A skilled defender with a booming shot, Alexander led the Orillia Terriers
to the Allan Cup
, awarded to Canada's top amateur club, in 1973.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
talked Alexander into giving pro hockey another chance, and he joined their Central Hockey League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blazers
the following year. He was an immediate hit, as he scored 60 points and was named the league's top rookie and top defender.
In 1974–75, Alexander was called up to the Leafs, making his NHL debut at the age of 29. He finished the season with 7 goals (including a hat-trick) and 17 points in 42 games. He spent most of the next two seasons on the Leafs' roster, posting 21 points in 81 games, and made his most notable contribution in the 1976 playoffs with 6 points in 9 games.
For the 1977–78, Alexander was traded to the Vancouver Canucks
. He split the season between the Canucks and their farm team in Tulsa, but made a substantial contribution with 26 points in just 32 games in Vancouver. The following season, he moved to the WHA
with the Edmonton Oilers
, posting 31 points on a team featuring Wayne Gretzky
in his first professional season. He then spent two season playing in Germany before retiring in 1981. Following his retirement he served a brief stint as head coach of Toronto's American Hockey League
(AHL) affiliate in St. Catharines.
Alexander finished his career with 18 goals and 64 points in 155 career NHL games, along with just 36 penalty minutes. He also recorded 8 goals and 31 points in 54 WHA games.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
retired professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who played in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
in the 1970s.
Playing career
Alexander was one of the game's last great amateurAmateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
players. After a brief stint in minor-pro hockey in the mid-1960s, he returned home to Ontario and took a job as a milkman
Milkman
A milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...
, while continuing to star with local senior amateur teams. A skilled defender with a booming shot, Alexander led the Orillia Terriers
Orillia Terriers (senior/intermediate hockey)
The Orillia Terriers were an ice hockey team from Orillia, Ontario, Canada that competed in the OHA Senior A and Intermediate A ranks from 1969 to 1982....
to the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
, awarded to Canada's top amateur club, in 1973.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
talked Alexander into giving pro hockey another chance, and he joined their Central Hockey League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blazers
Oklahoma City Blazers
The Oklahoma City Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Northwest Division of the Central Hockey League. The Blazers played at the Ford Center, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Their colors were burgundy, gold and white...
the following year. He was an immediate hit, as he scored 60 points and was named the league's top rookie and top defender.
In 1974–75, Alexander was called up to the Leafs, making his NHL debut at the age of 29. He finished the season with 7 goals (including a hat-trick) and 17 points in 42 games. He spent most of the next two seasons on the Leafs' roster, posting 21 points in 81 games, and made his most notable contribution in the 1976 playoffs with 6 points in 9 games.
For the 1977–78, Alexander was traded to the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
. He split the season between the Canucks and their farm team in Tulsa, but made a substantial contribution with 26 points in just 32 games in Vancouver. The following season, he moved to the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
with the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, posting 31 points on a team featuring Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
in his first professional season. He then spent two season playing in Germany before retiring in 1981. Following his retirement he served a brief stint as head coach of Toronto's American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
(AHL) affiliate in St. Catharines.
Alexander finished his career with 18 goals and 64 points in 155 career NHL games, along with just 36 penalty minutes. He also recorded 8 goals and 31 points in 54 WHA games.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1965–66 | Kitchener Rangers Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted... |
OHA Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the... |
45 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Knoxville Knoxville Knights The Knoxville Knights were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the James White Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Knights played for seven seasons in the Eastern Hockey League from 1961 to 1968. The Knights folded after the end of the 1967-68 season.The Knights had the... /Johnstown Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena... |
EHL Eastern Hockey League -Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... |
67 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Collingwood Kings | OHA Sr. Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the... |
40 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Collingwood Kings | OHA Sr. | 39 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Orillia Terriers Orillia Terriers (senior/intermediate hockey) The Orillia Terriers were an ice hockey team from Orillia, Ontario, Canada that competed in the OHA Senior A and Intermediate A ranks from 1969 to 1982.... |
OHA Sr. | 38 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Orillia Terriers | OHA Sr. | 41 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Oklahoma City Blazers Oklahoma City Blazers The Oklahoma City Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Northwest Division of the Central Hockey League. The Blazers played at the Ford Center, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Their colors were burgundy, gold and white... |
CHL | 72 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 33 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
42 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 43 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 33 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1976–77 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 48 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 46 | 14 | 42 | 56 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,... |
NHL | 32 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Dallas Black Hawks Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, Texas. They were a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum.... |
CHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1978–79 | Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
WHA World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926... |
54 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Bad Nauheim | Bund | 44 | 32 | 18 | 50 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Bad Nauheim | Bund | 37 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 48 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 27 | ||
| NHL totals | 155 | 18 | 46 | 64 | 36 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||||