George Wallace Lyle (born November 24, 1953) is a Canadian 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 h ...

player. Between 1976 and 1983 he played 99 games in the

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 ...

with the Detroit Red Wings and

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

, as well as 202 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

with the

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Playing career

Lyle was selected 123rd overall in 1973 after transferring to Michigan Tech. He then spent three years at

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michiga ...

where they were NCAA Champions in 1975 and runner up in both 1974 and 1976 NCAA tournament. In 1975-76 he was placed on the

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

first all-star team and earned All-American honors after scoring 47 goals in 43 games during the 1975–76 schedule. Lyle opted to begin his pro career with the WHA's

in 1976–77. After scoring 39 goals for the club eam recordhe was presented the

Lou Kaplan Trophy The Lou Kaplan Trophy was presented annually to the World Hockey Association's (WHA) rookie of the year. History Lou Kaplan was one of the original owners of the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA. On August 10, 1973, the WHA officially named i ...

as the league's top rookie. He continued to be a solid worker for another two seasons before the Detroit Red Wings reclaimed him as a part of the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft. He split the next two seasons between the NHL and the AHL's

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nation ...

. In 1981 he scored 18 points in as many playoff games when he helped the Wings capture the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

. After a slow start in 1981–82, Lyle was placed on waivers and picked up by Hartford. He averaged a point per game in 14 contests for his new club before sustaining a season ending eye injury. The veteran scorer retired in 1983 after playing 16 games for Hartford and spending the rest of his time with the

Binghamton Whalers The Binghamton Whalers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, playing in Binghamton, New York, USA, at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The Whalers were generally a successful team, making the playoffs seven ti ...

of the AHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

*
Hockey Draft Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, George 1953 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players Binghamton Whalers players Canadian ice hockey forwards Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Hartford Whalers players Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions New England Whalers players Ice hockey people from North Vancouver Springfield Indians players