- Don Lever
-
Don Lever Born November 14, 1952
South Porcupine, ON, CANHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) Position Left wing Shot Left Played for Vancouver Canucks
Atlanta Flames
Calgary Flames
Colorado Rockies
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo SabresNational team 
CanadaNHL Draft 3rd overall, 1972
Vancouver CanucksPlaying career 1972–1987 Donald Richard "Cleaver" Lever (born November 14, 1952) is the head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) and a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87.
Contents
Playing career
Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The forward reached the 20-goal mark six times in Vancouver and played for Canada at the 1978 World Championships. Lever was traded to the Atlanta Flames alongside Brad Smith in exchange for Ivan Boldirev and Darcy Rota on February 8, 1980. He was later the first captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever scored the first goal in Devils history. He was recognized for both his penalty killing and powerplay abilities. Lever played 1020 career NHL games, scoring 313 goals and 367 assists for 680 points.[1] On March 9, 2009, Lever was named an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens by Bob Gainey after the firing of Guy Carbonneau.[2] His contract was not renewed, and he was named head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on October 21, 2009.
Awards and achievements
- 1972: OHA First All-Star Team
- 1972: Red Tilson Trophy (OHA MVP)
- 1982: Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1990–91: Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award
- 2006–07: Head coached the Hamilton Bulldogs to their first franchise Calder Cup, AHL championship
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1969–70 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 2 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 1970–71 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 59 35 36 71 112 — — — — — 1971–72 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 69 61 65 126 69 — — — — — 1972–73 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 12 26 38 49 — — — — — 1973–74 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 23 25 48 28 — — — — — 1974–75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 38 30 68 49 5 0 1 1 4 1975–76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 25 40 65 93 2 0 0 0 0 1976–77 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 27 30 57 28 — — — — — 1977–78 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 17 32 49 58 — — — — — 1978–79 Vancouver Canucks NHL 71 23 21 44 17 3 2 1 3 2 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 51 21 17 38 32 — — — — — 1979–80 Atlanta Flames NHL 28 14 16 30 4 4 1 1 2 0 1980–81 Calgary Flames NHL 62 26 31 57 56 16 4 7 11 20 1981–82 Calgary Flames NHL 23 8 11 19 6 — — — — — 1981–82 Colorado Rockies NHL 59 22 28 50 20 — — — — — 1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 23 30 53 68 — — — — — 1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 14 19 33 44 — — — — — 1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 10 8 18 31 — — — — — 1985–86 Rochester Americans AHL 29 6 11 17 16 — — — — — 1985–86 Buffalo Sabres NHL 29 7 1 8 6 — — — — — 1986–87 Rochester Americans AHL 57 29 25 54 69 18 4 3 7 14 1986–87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 10 3 2 5 4 — — — — — NHL totals 1,020 313 367 680 593 30 7 10 17 26 Coaching statistics
Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1987-88 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1988-89 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1990-91 Rochester Americans AHL Head Coach 80 45 26 9 0 0.619 Lost in Finals 1991-92 Rochester Americans AHL Head Coach 80 37 31 12 0 0.537 Lost in round 3 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1993-94 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1994-95 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1995-96 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach 1996-97 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 1997-98 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach 1998-99 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach 1999-00 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach 2000-01 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 2001-02 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach 2002-03 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant Coach 2003-04 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant Coach 2005-06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 35 41 0 4 0.463 Out of Playoffs 2006-07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 43 28 0 9 0.594 Won Championship 2007-08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 36 34 0 10 0.512 Out of Playoffs 2008-09 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 65 39 24 0 2 0.615 2008-09 Montreal Canadiens NHL Assistant Coach
Personal life
He and his wife Karen have three children, Michael, Sarah, and Caitlin.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13385 Legends of Hockey/HHOF. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
- ^ "Canadiens fire Carbonneau, Gainey takes over as coach". The Sports Network. 2009-03-09. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=270525&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ [1]
External links
Preceded by
Jocelyn GuevremontVancouver Canucks first round draft pick
1972Succeeded by
Dennis VervergaertPreceded by
Chris OddleifsonVancouver Canucks captain
1977–79Succeeded by
Kevin McCarthyPreceded by
Colorado Rockies captains
Rob RamageNew Jersey Devils captain
1982–84Succeeded by
Mel BridgmanCategories:- 1952 births
- Atlanta Flames players
- Buffalo Sabres players
- Calgary Flames players
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Colorado Rockies (NHL) players
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Living people
- Montreal Canadiens coaches
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- Niagara Falls Flyers alumni
- People from Timmins
- Rochester Americans players
- Vancouver Canucks captains
- Vancouver Canucks draft picks
- Vancouver Canucks players
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