Gordon Roberts

Gordon William "Doc" Roberts (September 5, 1891 – September 2, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a forward for the Ottawa Hockey Club and Montreal Wanderers of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Vancouver Millionaires and Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). He was a member of the Ottawa team that defended the Stanley Cup in a 1910 challenge; Roberts scored seven goals in two games in his team's victory over the Edmonton Hockey Club. He moved to Montreal in 1910 where he was consistently among the NHA's leading scorers with the Wanderers while also studying medicine at McGill University.

While in Montreal, Roberts attended McGill University, where he studied to become a physician. Following his graduation, he settled in British Columbia to begin his medical career. Continuing his hockey career, Roberts joined the Vancouver Millionaires where he was named a PCHA all-star at left wing and led the league in scoring with 43 goals in 1916–17. He retired from hockey in 1918 following a season in Seattle before Vancouver lured him back to the game one year later. Roberts left the sport again in 1920 and his medical career ultimately took him to Oakland, California where he practiced for over 40 years. He was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971.

Playing career Roberts participated in several sports in his youth. In addition to hockey, he played lacrosse and football. Roberts focused on hockey, however, and played for several teams in his hometown of Ottawa. He was the leading scorer of the Ottawa City Hockey League in 1908–09 as a member of the Emmitts Hockey Club with 19 goals in six games.

When he turned professional in 1909 by joining the Ottawa Hockey Club, Roberts was one of the youngest players in his league at the age of 18 years. He scored three goals with the team in a single game in the short-lived Canadian Hockey Association before Ottawa jumped to the National Hockey Association (NHA) for the remainder of the season. In nine NHA games, Roberts recorded 13 goals. The Ottawa Citizen described Roberts as being the star of the first game. The paper praised his defensive checking in addition to his four goals scored in an 8–4 victory. He added three goals in the second game as Ottawa retained control of the Stanley Cup by a 21–11 aggregate score.

Having enrolled at McGill University to study medicine, Roberts moved to Montreal. he joined the Montreal Wanderers for the 1910–11 NHA season. Roberts played only four NHA games that year, but thereafter was consistently one of the league's leading scorers. Following a pair of 16-goal seasons, Roberts finished second in league scoring with 31 goals in 1913–14 and with 29 in 1914–15. He was also named a league all-star in 1914. He scored 16 goals in 22 games for Vancouver before permanently retiring from hockey. Roberts was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the greatest left wings in the sport's history. His wrist shot, one of the most fearsome of the pre-1927 era, became the stuff of legend across the country, in both the PCHA and NHA. Amongst the sporting press, he was often said to have had "the hardest and most deceptive shot in hockey" during the 1910s.

Roberts was sometimes described as being the inventor of the "curved shot", preceding and outmatching players such as Harry Cameron, Babe Dye and Didier Pitre. Clint Benedict, often considered the greatest goalie of the 1893–1926 era also gave praise to Roberts’ accuracy coupled with his ability to curve the puck.

Roberts was noted for being able to get his shot off at very bad angles from close in, as well as drive it in from far outside the reach and typical positional range of defenceman.

Notwithstanding his shooting prowess, Roberts was also well regarded for his stamina and skating ability,

Personal life Born September 5, 1891, and raised in Ottawa, Roberts was the youngest of ten children; he had eight brothers and a sister. His brother Laurie was also a doctor and athlete, while another brother, Eddie, fought and died in the First World War. Roberts returned east in 1922 where he did post-graduate studies in New York. The Ottawa Senators, then of the National Hockey League, attempted to bring him out of retirement again and Cornell University sought his services as a lacrosse coach. Roberts turned down both offers and chose to retain focus on his medical career; He moved to California where he taught for a time at Stanford University Hospital. Roberts died September 2, 1966, and in 1971 was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1908–09 Ottawa Emmets OCHL 6 19 0 19 8 2 2 0 2 0 1909–10 Ottawa Hockey Club CHA 1 3 0 3 6 — — — — — 1909–10 Ottawa Hockey Club NHA 9 13 0 13 34 — — — — — 1909–10 Ottawa Seconds OCHL 1 3 0 3 5 — — — — — 1909–10 Ottawa Hockey Club St-Cup — — — — — 2 7 0 7 0 1910–11 Montreal Wanderers NHA 4 1 0 1 3 — — — — — 1911–12 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18 16 0 16 28 — — — — — 1912–13 Montreal Wanderers NHA 16 16 0 16 22 — — — — — 1913–14 Montreal Wanderers NHA 20 31 13 44 15 — — — — — 1914–15 Montreal Wanderers NHA 19 29 5 34 74 2 0 0 0 15 1915–16 Montreal Wanderers NHA 21 18 7 25 64 — — — — — 1916–17 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 23 43 10 53 42 — — — — — 1917–18 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 18 20 3 23 24 2 0 0 0 3 1919–20 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 22 16 3 19 13 2 1 0 1 0 NHA totals 107 124 25 149 240 2 0 0 0 15 PCHA totals 63 79 16 95 79 4 1 0 1 3