Paul Shmyr

Paul Shmyr (January 18, 1946 – September 2, 2004) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). He featured in the 1971 Stanley Cup Final with the Chicago Black Hawks, the 1979 Avco Cup Final with the Edmonton Oilers, and the 1981 Stanley Cup Final with the Minnesota North Stars.

Playing career

Shmyr was one of the top defensive stars in the short history of the WHA, noted for his hard-nosed play, having jumped from the NHL's California Golden Seals to the upstart Cleveland Crusaders. He played four seasons for Cleveland, garnering the league's top defenceman trophy in 1976. He subsequently played for the WHA's San Diego Mariners, where he enjoyed his best offensive campaign, and played two years for the Edmonton Oilers, captaining the club to a regular season league championship in the WHA's final season. As captain, he elected to wear a Cyrillic "К" instead of the customary captain's "C" due to his Ukrainian heritage.

After the WHA folded, the Minnesota North Stars, which owned his rights, reclaimed him, and as a noted leader, was named to captain the North Stars in 1979. While the Stars' captain, he led them to a semifinal appearance in 1980 and to the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the New York Islanders. He then signed with the Hartford Whalers as a free agent in 1981 and retired after one season.

Shmyr was named to the WHA First Team All-Star Team in 1973, 1974, and 1976, and to its Second Team All-Star Team in 1979; he was one of six players named to the First Team three times in WHA history. He finished third in the WHA's career leaders for games played, twentieth in assists, and fourth in penalty minutes. He represented Canada at the 1974 Summit Series and was one of only two WHAers (the other being Bobby Hull) to be invited to try out for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup, though he failed to make the team.

He was from a hockey-playing family; his younger brother John Shmyr also played in the WHA. Shmyr died of throat cancer in 2004, at the age of 58.

Honours In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1965–66 New Westminster Royals BCHL — — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 New Westminster Royals M-Cup — — — — — 4 2 0 2 9 1966–67 New Westminster Royals BCHL — — — — — — — — — — 1966–67 Vancouver Canucks WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1966–67 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 70 3 18 21 89 11 3 3 6 19 1967–68 Dallas Black Hawks CPHL 70 5 15 20 73 5 0 0 0 0 1968–69 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 1 0 1 8 — — — — — 1968–69 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 69 7 39 46 118 11 4 12 16 17 1968–69 Portland Buckaroos WHL — — — — — 1 0 1 1 0 1969–70 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 24 0 4 4 26 8 1 2 3 0 1969–70 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 48 3 21 24 88 — — — — — 1970–71 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 57 1 12 13 41 9 0 0 0 17 1971–72 California Golden Seals NHL 69 6 21 27 156 — — — — — 1972–73 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 73 5 43 48 169 8 1 3 4 19 1973–74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 78 13 31 44 165 5 0 4 4 31 1974–75 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 49 7 14 21 103 5 2 1 3 15 1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 70 6 44 50 101 — — — — — 1976–77 San Diego Mariners WHA 81 13 37 50 103 7 0 2 2 8 1977–78 Edmonton Oilers WHA 80 9 40 49 100 5 1 3 4 11 1978–79 Edmonton Oilers WHA 80 8 39 47 119 13 1 5 6 23 1979–80 Minnesota North Stars NHL 63 3 15 18 84 14 2 1 3 23 1980–81 Minnesota North Stars NHL 61 1 9 10 79 3 0 0 0 4 1981–82 Hartford Whalers NHL 66 1 11 12 134 — — — — — WHA totals 511 61 248 309 860 43 5 18 23 107 NHL totals 343 13 72 85 528 34 3 3 6 44

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1974 Canada SS 7 0 2 2 6