Brian Lawton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shot | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg/12 st 12 lb) |
| Pro clubs | Minnesota North Stars New York Rangers Hartford Whalers Quebec Nordiques Boston Bruins San Jose Sharks |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | January 29, 1965 , New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 1983 Minnesota North Stars |
| Pro career | 1983 – 1993 |
Brian R. Lawton (born June 29, 1965 in New Brunswick, New Jersey and raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island) is a former professional ice hockey player and player agent who played 483 games in the NHL between 1983 and 1992. During his career, Lawton played for the North Stars, New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. He was drafted number one overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. A graduate of Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket, RI, Lawton is noted for being the first US-born hockey player drafted first overall in the NHL draft. He was also the first and, as of 2007, only US high school hockey player to be drafted first overall.
Lawton was ranked by NHL Central Scouting Bureau as No. 1 overall prospect for the 1983 NHL draft, and despite a reasonable NHL career that included 266 career points in 483 games, he is considered to be one of the biggest draft busts in NHL history. This is mainly in part because he was drafted ahead of players such as Steve Yzerman, Cam Neely, Tom Barrasso and Pat LaFontaine.
In international hockey, Lawton played for the United States national team in the 1983 and 1987 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments as well as the 1984 Canada Cup.
After retiring in 1993, Lawton went on to become a highly successful player agent representing NHL talent such as Mike Modano and R.J. Umberger. He is currently searching for a job as a General Manager with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. [1]
[edit] Career Stats
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 58 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1984–85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 40 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1984–85 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 42 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1985–86 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 65 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 66 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 86 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1987–88 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 71 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988–89 | New York Rangers | NHL | 30 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 39 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988–89 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 35 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989–90 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989–90 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990–91 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 63 | 26 | 40 | 86 | 108 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 40 | ||
| 1991–92 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 59 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992–93 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992–93 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992–93 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 483 | 112 | 154 | 266 | 401 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||||
[edit] References
| Preceded by Gord Kluzak |
NHL First Overall Draft Pick 1983 |
Succeeded by Mario Lemieux |
|
|||||
|
|||||
 |
This United States biographical article relating to ice hockey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
