Bob Leiter

Robert Edward Leiter (born March 22, 1941) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, most notably for the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League. He spent ten seasons in the NHL and one season in the World Hockey Association between 1962 and 1976.

Playing career

After a junior career that saw him playing on a Memorial Cup winner with the Winnipeg Braves in 1959, Leiter—whose rights were owned by the Boston Bruins—spent most of the next decade in the minor leagues. Derailed by a bout of tuberculosis, occasional injuries and the perception that he would serve better as a defensive player, he served two seasons for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League and six with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, playing only large sections of the 1963 and 1964 seasons with the Bruins.

By 1967 there was no place on the newly powerful Bruins for Leiter, and he was a fixture on the Bears, where he was a scoring leader his final four seasons. 1971, his final year in Hershey, was his best, leading the team in scoring and being named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team.

Following that season, the Pittsburgh Penguins bought Leiter from the Bruins, and he became an NHL regular at last. When expansion came in 1972, Leiter was chosen by the Atlanta Flames in the expansion draft as its 17th pick. Despite being chosen inauspiciously low, Leiter led the team in scoring in its inaugural year and was a mainstay with his two-way play. He finished second in team scoring the following season.

However, injuries and age eroded his scoring skills, and he was released by the Flames early in the 1976 season. Leiter signed with the Calgary Cowboys of the World Hockey Association to finish the season, after which he retired.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1958–59 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 31 14 21 35 8 8 3 4 7 4 1959–60 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 31 22 31 53 48 4 1 2 3 2 1959–60 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1960–61 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 30 20 14 34 31 3 0 3 3 0 1960–61 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 5 1 3 4 0 — — — — — 1960–61 Winnipeg Maroons Al-Cup — — — — — 20 11 4 15 2 1961–62 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 69 24 32 56 61 11 8 8 16 8 1962–63 Boston Bruins NHL 51 9 13 22 34 — — — — — 1962–63 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 20 15 23 38 17 — — — — — 1963–64 Hershey Bears AHL 15 6 6 12 6 6 2 4 6 2 1963–64 Boston Bruins NHL 56 6 13 19 43 — — — — — 1964–65 Boston Bruins NHL 18 3 1 4 6 — — — — — 1965–66 Hershey Bears AHL 45 9 23 32 16 3 1 2 3 2 1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 9 2 1 3 2 — — — — — 1966–67 California Seals WHL 20 2 8 10 10 1 0 0 0 0 1967–68 Hershey Bears AHL 72 22 48 70 57 5 0 0 0 4 1968–69 Hershey Bears AHL 72 26 33 59 35 11 2 8 10 12 1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Hershey Bears AHL 72 21 41 62 51 7 3 2 5 4 1970–71 Hershey Bears AHL 72 33 36 69 26 4 0 2 2 4 1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 78 14 17 31 18 4 3 0 3 0 1972–73 Atlanta Flames NHL 78 26 34 60 19 — — — — — 1973–74 Atlanta Flames NHL 78 26 26 52 10 4 0 0 0 2 1974–75 Atlanta Flames NHL 52 10 18 28 8 — — — — — 1975–76 Atlanta Flames NHL 26 2 3 5 4 — — — — — 1975–76 Calgary Cowboys WHA 51 17 17 34 8 3 2 0 2 0 WHA totals 51 17 17 34 8 3 2 0 2 0 NHL totals 447 98 126 224 144 8 3 0 3 2

Awards and achievements Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1959) Memorial Cup Championship (1959) AHL Second All-Star Team (1971) Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame