Garry Monahan

Garry Michael Monahan (born October 20, 1946) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League. He was the first-ever draft pick in NHL history.

Career

Monahan was selected as the first overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1963 NHL amateur draft of 16-year-old players, becoming the inaugural pick of the NHL's first draft. Held behind closed doors and with little press coverage, the draft was obscure enough that Monahan was surprised by his selection, with his father stating aloud if they drafted Pat Monahan, Garry's older brother. Monahan was one of just five of the 21 drafted players who ended up making it to the NHL. The next season, he played junior B hockey with the St. Michael's Buzzers in Toronto before moving up to the junior A Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey Association, where he played from 1964 to 1967. In his final junior year, he turned into a top scorer playing on a line with Mickey Redmond, the league's leading goal scorer. Monahan scored 30 goals and 84 points in 47 games on what was otherwise a weak Petes team.

Montreal Canadiens He made his NHL debut with the Canadiens in the 1967–68 season but spent most of the year with Montreal's Central Hockey League affiliate, the Houston Apollos. After spending much of the entire 1968–69 season in the American Hockey League with the Cleveland Barons, Monahan was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in June 1969 in the deal where the Canadiens acquired Pete Mahovlich. Monahan saw little ice time and struggled offensively and before the end of the season was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where the story was the same. In 72 games with the Red Wings and Kings, Monahan scored just three goals and 10 points.

Toronto Maple Leafs Before the next season, Monahan was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the trade where the Kings acquired their future captain and coach, Bob Pulford. Monahan saw much more ice time in Toronto as a defensive forward, playing four full seasons with the Leafs. After the first game of the 1974–75 season, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks and played there for four years, scoring his NHL career high of 18 goals and 44 points in the 1976–77 season. After his offensive numbers dropped off in his final year in Vancouver, Monahan rejoined the Leafs for the 1978–79 season, scoring just four goals in 62 games. That ended his career in the NHL, where he played 748 games over 12 seasons.

Monahan then went to Japan and played three seasons with Tokyo-based Seibu Tetsudo of the Japan Ice Hockey League, retiring after the 1981–82 season at age 35. Afterward, he spent several years working on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1964–65 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 55 12 16 28 28 12 1 2 3 11 1965–66 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 46 6 10 16 43 6 0 3 3 9 1966–67 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 47 30 54 84 79 6 2 2 4 20 1966–67 Houston Apollos CPHL — — — — — 3 1 0 1 0 1967–68 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 0 0 0 8 — — — — — 1967–68 Houston Apollos CPHL 56 17 31 48 86 — — — — — 1968–69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1968–69 Cleveland Barons AHL 70 18 26 44 81 5 2 0 2 10 1969–70 Detroit Red Wings NHL 51 3 4 7 24 — — — — — 1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 21 0 3 3 12 — — — — — 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 15 22 37 79 6 2 0 2 2 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 14 17 31 47 5 0 0 0 0 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 13 18 31 53 — — — — — 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 9 16 25 70 4 0 1 1 7 1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1974–75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 14 20 34 51 5 1 0 1 2 1975–76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 66 16 17 33 39 2 0 0 0 2 1976–77 Vancouver Canucks NHL 76 18 26 44 48 — — — — — 1977–78 Vancouver Canucks NHL 67 10 19 29 28 — — — — — 1977–78 Tulsa Oilers CHL 7 3 2 5 0 — — — — — 1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 4 7 11 25 — — — — — 1979–80 Seibu Tetsudo JIHL 20 13 17 30 — — — — — — 1980–81 Seibu Tetsudo JIHL 20 12 14 26 — — — — — — 1981–82 Seibu Tetsudo JIHL 20 17 19 36 — — — — — — NHL totals 748 116 169 285 484 22 3 1 4 13