James Wilfred Roberts (April 9, 1940 – October 23, 2015), known as Jim Roberts or Jimmy Roberts, was a Canadian
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...
and forward. He went by both nicknames of Jimmy and Jim.
After playing for future
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 ...
coach
Scotty Bowman
William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...
with the OHA junior
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
, Roberts was signed by the Canadiens and turned pro with the
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball, minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm system, farm club (Triple-A (base ...
minor league team in 1959. In the
1964 season, he saw his first NHL action with Montreal and remained the next several seasons, winning two
Stanley Cups before becoming the first selection of the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
in
1967 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals ...
. He played solidly for the Blues for five seasons, being named the team captain in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
before his trade back to Montreal, where he played for three more Cup winners. Roberts rejoined the Blues for one final season in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 – ...
before his retirement. He was renowned for his defensive skills and often used as a "shadow" against high scoring enemy forwards.
After his retirement as a player, Roberts was an interim coach of the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...
under his old mentor Bowman before coaching the
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
to back-to-back
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 ...
championships in 1990 and 1991, after which he was named the head coach of the
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 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...
. He went on to be the coach and general manager of the
Worcester IceCats
The Worcester IceCats were a US ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum. In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and moved to Peoria, Illinois.
History
The IceCat ...
of the AHL for two seasons before moving on to be an assistant coach with the St. Louis parent club between 1996–2000, including a short stint as the interim head coach in 1997.
Roberts played in 1006 NHL games, scoring 126 goals and 194 assists for 320 points, and playing in three All-Star Games in 1965, 1969 and 1970. Jimmy Roberts name was engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1965, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1977 (all with Montreal).
Roberts died October 23, 2015 of cancer, which had been diagnosed weeks prior.
On October 27, 2015 the St. Louis Blues announced they were going to wear helmet decals for the home stand that read "JR" in the lower left corner of the helmet.
Career statistics
Coaching statistics
See also
*
List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References
External links
*
1940 births
2015 deaths
Deaths from cancer in Missouri
Buffalo Sabres coaches
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Hartford Whalers coaches
Montreal Canadiens players
Pittsburgh Penguins coaches
St. Louis Blues coaches
St. Louis Blues players
Ice hockey people from Toronto
Stanley Cup champions
Canadian ice hockey coaches
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