Alvin John Paddock (born June 9, 1954) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
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 ...
coach and former player, currently the senior vice-president of hockey operations of the
Regina Pats
Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to:
Places Canada
* Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province
** Regina (electoral district)
** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina
France
* Régina, French Guiana, a commune
United States
* ...
of the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
(WHL). He is a former head coach of the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
and
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
. During his long career in 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL), he won five
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 (two as a player, three as a head coach) and was inducted into the AHL's
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
in 2010.
Playing career
Selected in the
1974 NHL Entry Draft by the
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) ...
, Paddock only played eight games with the Capitals before he was traded to the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
. He played a memorable role in the
1980 Stanley Cup Finals against the
New York Islanders, scoring the tying goal to send Game 6 of the Finals into overtime. However,
Bob Nystrom
Robert Thore Nystrom (born October 10, 1952) is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972– 86. He is best remembered as having scored the ...
scored at 7:11 of
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
to win the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
for New York.
Throughout his career, Paddock had a difficult time trying to crack the lineup on an NHL team. Playing primarily in the minors, in particular the
Maine Mariners 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL), Paddock retired as a player in 1983–84 and moved to coaching.
Career statistics
Coaching career
Paddock began coaching with the Maine Mariners of the AHL, winning the Calder Cup in his first year. He later coached in
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey.
The community is lo ...
, winning 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 ...
as coach of the 1988 AHL champion
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...
. He was named head coach of the NHL's
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
in 1991, becoming the first Manitoba-born coach of the franchise. Later, he would also become its general manager and would relinquish his coaching duties in early 1994. He remained as the general manager—even after the Jets relocated to
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
, to become the
Phoenix Coyotes—until December 1996.
After two years as a scout with the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
, Paddock would return to head coaching in 1999, primarily in the AHL. He was head coach of the
Hartford Wolf Pack from 1999 to 2002, winning his third AHL Championship as a coach in the 1999–2000 season.
Paddock joined the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
organization in 2002 as coach of their AHL affiliate, the
Binghamton Senators, from 2002 to 2005. In 2002, he was promoted to the assistant coach of the Ottawa Senators. When Ottawa head coach
Bryan Murray was promoted to general manager in July 2007 following the team's
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
appearance, Paddock became head coach of Ottawa, the sixth head coach in modern Senators' history.
Paddock's term with Ottawa started extremely well. In the first 17 games of the season, the club set records for the best start in NHL history, winning 15 of their first 17 games. In the
2007–08 season, Paddock was the head coach of the
Eastern Conference team for the
All-Star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
as Ottawa had the best record in the East. However, on February 27, 2008, Murray fired Paddock after several lackluster performances by the team in February, and a generally poor record since the first 17 games of the year. Murray would serve as head coach for the remainder of the 2007–08 season and playoffs, with a 7–9–2 record. The Senators were eliminated in the first round of the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
.
In August 2008, Paddock returned to the Philadelphia Flyers organization, hired to be head coach of their AHL affiliate, the
Philadelphia Phantoms
The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...
. On July 9, 2009, he was appointed assistant general manager of the Flyers. On June 18, 2014, Paddock was released by the Philadelphia Flyers organization.
On August 6, 2014, Paddock was hired by the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
(WHL)'s
Regina Pats
Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to:
Places Canada
* Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province
** Regina (electoral district)
** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina
France
* Régina, French Guiana, a commune
United States
* ...
as head coach and senior vice-president of hockey operations. Following his first season behind the Pats' bench, Paddock was named the Dunc McCallum Trophy winner as the WHL's 2015 Coach of the Year.
On June 28, 2018 he stepped down as head coach but remained VP of Hockey Operations and GM for The Pats.
References
External links
*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddock, John
1954 births
Arizona Coyotes executives
Brandon Wheat Kings players
Canadian ice hockey coaches
Canadian ice hockey forwards
Hershey Bears coaches
Ice hockey people from Manitoba
Living people
Maine Mariners players
Minnesota Fighting Saints draft picks
National Hockey League general managers
New York Rangers scouts
Ottawa Senators coaches
Philadelphia Flyers coaches
Philadelphia Flyers executives
Philadelphia Flyers players
Quebec Nordiques players
Regina Pats coaches
Richmond Robins players
Springfield Indians players
Washington Capitals draft picks
Washington Capitals players
Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) coaches
Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) executives