Paul Cavallini

Paul Edward Cavallini (born October 13, 1965) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. He is the younger brother of former player Gino Cavallini, who was his teammate for several years with the St. Louis Blues. In 564 NHL games, Cavallini scored 56 goals and 177 assists.

Early life Cavallini was born on October 13, 1965, in Toronto, Ontario to Italian immigrants Phyllis and Rino Cavallini. He grew up alongside his older brother Gino, who also played ice hockey.

Playing career High school and college Cavallini attended Chaminade College School and then graduated from Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School before enrolling at Providence College for his college ice hockey career. Prior to joining the Providence Friars men's ice hockey team, Cavallini was drafted in the 10th round, 205th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 1984 NHL entry draft. Between graduating and joining the Friars, Cavallini lost 20 pounds and began his freshman season at 205. He was also named to the All-Freshman Team. Due to his impressive freshman season, Cavallini was recruited by Dave King to join the Canadian Olympic hockey program. Despite leaving college early, Cavallini took courses at the University of Waterloo to finish his degree. He was subsequently assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Whalers and made his debut on March 7, 1986. As his equipment had not arrived in time for the game, he used the stick of a teammates instead.

After playing parts of two seasons with the Capitals, Cavallini was traded to the St. Louis Blues where he would spend almost six seasons including his best campaign, the 1989–90 season. He played in the 1990 All-Star game and led the league in plus/minus rating that season. Cavallini missed 13 games during the 1990–91 season with a left index finger injury after blocking a slapshot from Doug Wilson. The force of Wilson's shot severed the tip of Cavallini's finger, and doctors were unable to reattach the tip in surgery. Shortly thereafter, a local radio disc jockey acquired the tip of his finger from a pathology clerk and announced that he would be putting it up for a charity auction. However, due to the outrage this received, the clerk was fired, and the disc jockey apologised. Cavallini remained on the sidelines until January 25 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Cavallini returned to the Capitals for a second time during the 1992–93 NHL season in a trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Blues. Cavallini would once again be traded by the Capitals, this time to the Dallas Stars where he would play until his retirement a few weeks into the 1995–96 NHL season.

Personal life Cavallini is married to former Olympian Tracy Smith.

Awards and honors Award Year All-Hockey East Rookie Team 1984–85

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1981–82 Dixie Beehives OPJHL 5 1 1 2 7 — — — — — 1982–83 Henry Carr Crusaders MetJHL 35 6 16 22 191 — — — — — 1983–84 Henry Carr Crusaders MetJHL 54 20 41 61 190 — — — — — 1984–85 Providence College HE 45 5 14 19 64 — — — — — 1985–86 Canada Intl 52 1 11 12 95 — — — — — 1985–86 Binghamton Whalers AHL 15 3 4 7 20 6 0 2 2 56 1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 6 0 2 2 8 — — — — — 1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 66 12 24 36 188 13 2 7 9 35 1987–88 Washington Capitals NHL 24 2 3 5 66 — — — — — 1987–88 St. Louis Blues NHL 48 4 7 11 86 10 1 6 7 26 1988–89 St. Louis Blues NHL 65 4 20 24 128 10 2 2 4 14 1989–90 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 8 39 47 106 12 2 3 5 20 1990–91 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 10 25 35 89 13 2 3 5 20 1991–92 St. Louis Blues NHL 66 10 25 35 95 4 0 1 1 6 1992–93 St. Louis Blues NHL 11 1 4 5 10 — — — — — 1992–93 Washington Capitals NHL 71 5 8 13 46 6 0 2 2 18 1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 74 11 33 44 82 9 1 8 9 4 1994–95 Dallas Stars NHL 44 1 11 12 28 5 0 2 2 6 1995–96 Dallas Stars NHL 8 0 0 0 6 — — — — — NHL totals 564 56 177 233 750 69 8 27 35 114