Steve Baker (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
Steve Baker is a retired professional American
ice hockey
goaltender
who played 57 NHL
regular season games with the New York Rangers
between 1979 and 1983.
Before turning professional, Baker was a member of the Union College men's hockey team, resigning in protest when his coach Ned Harkness
was forced to resign. Baker was drafted by the Rangers with the 44th pick overall in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. Highlights of his brief NHL career include losing only one of his first ten National Hockey League games as a rookie in 1979–80 and the 1981 playoffs, when the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup
semifinals with him as their starting goalie. In the autumn of 1981, Baker served as Tony Esposito
's backup on the United States team at the 1981 Canada Cup
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
who played 57 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...
regular season games with the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
between 1979 and 1983.
Before turning professional, Baker was a member of the Union College men's hockey team, resigning in protest when his coach Ned Harkness
Ned Harkness
Nevin D. "Ned" Harkness was a successful NCAA head coach of ice hockey and lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University and of ice hockey at Union College. Harkness was also head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and later was the team's general manager...
was forced to resign. Baker was drafted by the Rangers with the 44th pick overall in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. Highlights of his brief NHL career include losing only one of his first ten National Hockey League games as a rookie in 1979–80 and the 1981 playoffs, when the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
semifinals with him as their starting goalie. In the autumn of 1981, Baker served as Tony Esposito
Tony Esposito
For the Italian musician, please see Tony Esposito .Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style....
's backup on the United States team at the 1981 Canada Cup
1981 Canada Cup
The 1981 Canada Cup was the second best-on-best ice hockey world championship and involved the world's top six hockey nations. Tournament games were held in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa. The Soviet Union defeated Canada in a single game final to win its first title, while Soviet...
.