Paul Kruse

Paul Johannes Kruse (born March 15, 1970) is a Canadian former ice hockey left wing. He played in the National Hockey League. with the Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks between 1991 and 2001. He was drafted in the fourth round, 83rd overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 1990 NHL entry draft.

Playing career After playing three seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers, Kruse joined the International Hockey League's Salt Lake Golden Eagles. After splitting three seasons between the Golden Eagles and the Flames, he joined the Flames full-time in the 1993–94 season.

During the 1996–97 season, Kruse was acquired by the New York Islanders. At the trade deadline of the 1997–98 season, he was traded, along with Jason Holland, to the Buffalo Sabres for Jason Dawe. Kruse was a member of the Buffalo Sabres team which went to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1998–99 season, appearing in ten playoff games during the run.

Kruse's last NHL appearance came when he dressed for one game for the 2000–01 San Jose Sharks. He went to Europe after the season, playing two years in the United Kingdom's British Ice Hockey Superleague for the Sheffield Steelers and the Belfast Giants and one more year playing in Austria playing for EHC Black Wings Linz before retiring.

Kruse is married with two daughters.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1986–87 Merritt Warriors BCJHL 35 8 15 23 120 — — — — — 1987–88 Merritt Centennials BCJHL 44 12 32 44 223 4 1 4 5 18 1987–88 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1988–89 Kamloops Blazers WHL 68 8 15 23 209 16 0 0 0 35 1989–90 Kamloops Blazers WHL 67 22 23 45 291 17 3 5 8 79 1989–90 Kamloops Blazers M-Cup — — — — — 3 1 2 3 8 1990–91 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 0 0 7 — — — — — 1990–91 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 83 24 20 44 313 — — — — — 1991–92 Calgary Flames NHL 16 3 1 4 65 — — — — — 1991–92 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 57 14 15 29 267 — — — — — 1992–93 Calgary Flames NHL 27 2 3 5 41 — — — — — 1992–93 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 35 1 4 5 206 — — — — — 1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 68 3 8 11 185 7 0 0 0 14 1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 45 11 5 16 141 7 4 2 6 10 1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 75 3 12 15 145 3 0 0 0 4 1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 14 2 0 2 30 — — — — — 1996–97 New York Islanders NHL 48 4 2 6 11 — — — — — 1997–98 New York Islanders NHL 62 1 7 8 138 — — — — — 1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL 12 1 1 2 49 1 1 0 1 4 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 43 3 0 3 114 10 0 0 0 4 1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 0 0 0 43 — — — — — 1999–00 Utah Grizzlies IHL 44 10 13 23 71 5 0 3 3 28 2000–01 Chicago Wolves IHL 71 8 12 20 180 16 2 3 5 22 2000–01 San Jose Sharks NHL 1 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2001–02 Sheffield Steelers BISL 44 12 16 28 152 8 2 2 4 20 2002–03 Belfast Giants BISL 25 5 13 18 92 18 3 9 12 53 2003–04 EHC Linz EBEL 16 4 3 7 64 3 0 0 0 2 NHL totals 423 38 33 71 974 28 5 2 7 36