Paul Mara
| Paul Mara | |
|---|---|
 Mara with the Canadiens in March 2011. |
|
| Born | September 7, 1979 Ridgewood, NJ, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| National team |  United States |
| NHL Draft | 7th overall, 1997 Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Playing career | 1999–present |
Paul Mara (born September 7, 1979) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently an unrestricted free agent of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 5 and a half seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes, his longest tenured hockey team. His older brother, Rob Mara, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in eleventh round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Junior
After playing two seasons of high school level hockey in Massachusetts for Belmont Hill School[2] Paul Mara joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League for the 1996–97 season. As part of a three team trade with the Windsor Spitfires Mara was traded to the Plymouth Whalers on December 16, 1997.[3] In reflecting on his move from high school to Junior hockey Mara said, "It was the best decision of my life, to go up to Sudbury."[4]
[edit] Professional
Mara was drafted in the first round, 7th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.[5] He spent two seasons between the Lightning and their IHL affiliate team the Detroit Vipers before being traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2001. He played 81 games with the Coyotes in 2003-04. During the 2004 NHL lockout, Mara joined the Hannover Scorpions of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
On June 26, 2006, he was traded by the Coyotes to the Boston Bruins for fellow defenseman Nick Boynton.[3]
On February 27, 2007, Mara was traded to the New York Rangers for Aaron Ward.[3]
On July 4, 2008, Mara re-signed with the Rangers for 1-year, $1.95 million.
On July 10, 2009, Mara signed as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens.[6]
On September 16, 2010, Mara signed with the Anaheim Ducks for 1-year, $750,000. After appearing in 33 games with the Ducks to start the 2010–11 season, on February 16, 2011, Mara was dealt by the Ducks to rejoin the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2012 5th Round Draft Pick. Following his second stint with the Canadiens, Paul Mara became an unrestricted free agent and has yet to play with another NHL team.
[edit] International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for United States |
||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2004 Prague | |
Mara was a member of the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 United States World Junior Championship teams. He also played for the United States at the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.Now he is a coach of A Varsity hockey team in Bourne, Ma.[3]
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994–95 | Belmont Hill | HIGH-MA | 28 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Belmont Hill | HIGH-MA | 28 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 44 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 25 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 25 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 30 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 30 | ||
| 1998–99 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 52 | 13 | 41 | 54 | 95 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 28 | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 15 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 54 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 46 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 75 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 58 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 73 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 81 | 6 | 36 | 42 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Hannover Scorpions | DEL | 35 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 78 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 59 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Rangers | NHL | 61 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 52 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 2008–09 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 94 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2009–10 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 42 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 734 | 64 | 189 | 253 | 776 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 50 | ||||
[edit] International
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | United States | WJC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | United States | WJC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1999 | United States | WJC | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| 2004 | United States | WC | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Junior int'l totals | 19 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 28 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
[edit] References
- ^ "1994 NHL Entry Draft". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "NHL Player Bio - Paul Mara". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=1083. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d "NHL Player Search - Paul Mara". Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=15086. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (17 June 1997). "Blue line special - Defenceman Paul Mara is top rated American in NHL draft". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. B4. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19970617&id=CogNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mm8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3421,261676. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1997e.html. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ Aintabi, Elie (10 July 2009). "Paul Mara Signs $1.9 Million Deal With Montreal Canadiens". bleacherreport.com. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/215618-paul-mara-signs-19-million-with-canadiens. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Mario Larocque |
Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick 1997 |
Succeeded by Vincent Lecavalier |
- 1979 births
- American ice hockey defencemen
- Anaheim Ducks players
- Boston Bruins players
- Detroit Vipers players
- Hannover Scorpions players
- Living people
- Montreal Canadiens players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New York Rangers players
- People from Belmont, Massachusetts
- People from Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- Plymouth Whalers alumni
- Sudbury Wolves alumni
- Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks
- Tampa Bay Lightning players
- Ice hockey people from New Jersey
