Robert Harvey "Bob" Paradise (born April 22, 1944) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who appeared in a total of 368

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) regular season games between 1971 and 1979. Internationally, Paradise played for the American national team at the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and 1977 World Championships, as well as at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

. He is a member of the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

Playing career

Paradise originally signed as a free agent by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

after playing for the United States national team at the

and 1969

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

. He was later traded to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in 1971 where he made his NHL debut. He also played for the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, and the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

before retiring in 1979. He was also a member of the US national team at the 1977

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

tournament.

Personal life

Paradise grew up in Saint Paul where he earned all-state honors in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and hockey while attending

Cretin High School Cretin-Derham Hall High School (CDH) is a private, co-educational Catholic high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sis ...

in Saint Paul. He also turned down a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

contract from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in 1965, choosing instead complete his education at St. Mary's College. While at the school, Paradise continued to develop his hockey skills, becoming an all-conference performer in the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian. ...

for four consecutive years. Paradise is the son-in-law of United States Hockey Hall of Famer

Bob Dill Robert Edward Dill (April 25, 1920 – April 16, 1991) was an American professional ice hockey player. He played 76 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers during the 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons. The rest of his caree ...

. His brother

Dick Paradise Dick Paradise (April 21, 1945) is a retired American ice hockey player who played 144 games in the World Hockey Association for the Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams bas ...

is also a former professional hockey player.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Transactions

*June, 1970 – Signed as a free agent by Montreal. *May, 1971 – Traded to Minnesota by Montreal with the rights to Gary Gambucci for cash. *June 6, 1972 – Traded to Atlanta by Minnesota for cash. *January 4, 1974 – Traded to Pittsburgh by Atlanta with Chuck Arnason for Al McDonough. *November 26, 1975 – Traded to Washington by Pittsburgh for Washington's 2nd round choice (Greg Malone) in 1976 Amateur Draft. *October 1, 1977 – Traded to Pittsburgh by Washington for the rights to Don Awrey.

References

External links

* 1944 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Atlanta Flames players Binghamton Dusters players Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Saint Paul, Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Voyageurs players Muskegon Mohawks players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Omaha Knights (CHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins players Seattle Totems (WHL) players Springfield Indians players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Washington Capitals players {{US-icehockey-defenceman-stub