A junior star with the OHA's Niagara Falls Flyers (112 points in 59 games in 1970-71), Don Lever was selected 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks and joined the team in only their third year of existence. He promptly made an impact, setting the original Canucks ironman streak at over 400 games. He broke the 50-point mark seven times in his NHL career and flirted with it on several other occasions.
Leaving the Canucks as one of their all-time leaders in goals and points, he moved on to Atlanta (making the transition with the team to Calgary), then Colorado (making the transition with the team to New Jersey), and finally winded up his career with the Buffalo Sabres. He is fondly remembered as one of the strongest pre-Scott Stevens captains of the New Jersey Devils organization, and one of the Canucks' best captains from the pre-Smyl era.
He joined the venerable 1000-game club before his career was out, finishing with totals of 1020 games, 313 goals, 367 assists and 680 points. He also represented the Colorado Rockies in the 1982 All Star Game.
Don Lever went on to a lengthy career as an NHL assistant coach with the Sabres, where he served from 1987 to 2002, interrupted by two years as head coach of their AHL affiliate. This was followed by two seasons with the St. Louis Blues in the same position. For the last three years, he has been an AHL head coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs, which included leading the team to their first Calder Cup in 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment