Bob Leiter

Bob Leiter
Born	(1941-03-22) March 22, 1941 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Flames
Playing career	1959–1976

Robert Edward Leiter (born March 22, 1941) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, most notably for the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League. He spent ten seasons in the NHL and one season in the World Hockey Association between 1962 and 1976.

Playing career

After a junior career that saw him playing on a Memorial Cup winner with the Winnipeg Braves in 1959, Leiter—whose rights were owned by the Boston Bruins—spent most of the next decade in the minor leagues. Derailed by a bout of tuberculosis, occasional injuries and the perception that he would serve better as a defensive player, he served two seasons for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League and six with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, playing only large sections of the 1963 and 1964 seasons with the Bruins.

By 1967 there was no place on the newly powerful Bruins for Leiter, and he was a fixture on the Bears, where he was a scoring leader his final four seasons. 1971, his final year in Hershey, was his best, leading the team in scoring and being named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team.

Following that season, the Pittsburgh Penguins bought Leiter from the Bruins, and he became an NHL regular at last. When expansion came in 1972, Leiter was chosen by the Atlanta Flames in the expansion draft as its 17th pick. Despite being chosen inauspiciously low, Leiter led the team in scoring in its inaugural year and was a mainstay with his two-way play. He finished second in team scoring the following season.

However, injuries and age eroded his scoring skills, and he was released by the Flames early in the 1976 season. Leiter signed with the Calgary Cowboys of the World Hockey Association to finish the season, after which he retired.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1958–59	Winnipeg Braves	MJHL		31	14	21	35	8		8	3	4	7	4
1959–60	Winnipeg Braves	MJHL		31	22	31	53	48		4	1	2	3	2
1959–60	Winnipeg Warriors	WHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Winnipeg Braves	MJHL		30	20	14	34	31		3	0	3	3	0
1960–61	Winnipeg Warriors	WHL		5	1	3	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Winnipeg Maroons	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		20	11	4	15	2
1961–62	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		69	24	32	56	61		11	8	8	16	8
1962–63	Boston Bruins	NHL		51	9	13	22	34		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		20	15	23	38	17		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	Hershey Bears	AHL		15	6	6	12	6		6	2	4	6	2
1963–64	Boston Bruins	NHL		56	6	13	19	43		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Boston Bruins	NHL		18	3	1	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Hershey Bears	AHL		45	9	23	32	16		3	1	2	3	2
1965–66	Boston Bruins	NHL		9	2	1	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	California Seals	WHL		20	2	8	10	10		1	0	0	0	0
1967–68	Hershey Bears	AHL		72	22	48	70	57		5	0	0	0	4
1968–69	Hershey Bears	AHL		72	26	33	59	35		11	2	8	10	12
1968–69	Boston Bruins	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Hershey Bears	AHL		72	21	41	62	51		7	3	2	5	4
1970–71	Hershey Bears	AHL		72	33	36	69	26		4	0	2	2	4
1971–72	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		78	14	17	31	18		4	3	0	3	0
1972–73	Atlanta Flames	NHL		78	26	34	60	19		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Atlanta Flames	NHL		78	26	26	52	10		4	0	0	0	2
1974–75	Atlanta Flames	NHL		52	10	18	28	8		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Atlanta Flames	NHL		26	2	3	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Calgary Cowboys	WHA		51	17	17	34	8		3	2	0	2	0
WHA Totals				51	17	17	34	8		3	2	0	2	0
NHL Totals				447	98	126	224	144		8	3	0	3	2

Awards and achievements

• Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1959)
• Memorial Cup Championship (1959)
• AHL Second All-Star Team (1971)
• Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database