Robin N. Bawa (born March 26, 1966) 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 who spent parts of four seasons 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 ...
between 1989 and 1994.
Playing career
Bawa spent five productive seasons of junior hockey in the
WHL with the
Kamloops Blazers
The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre.
The Blazers o ...
, but was passed over in the
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...
. Finally, after a 57-goal performance in the 1986–87 season, Bawa earned a pro contract from 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, a ...
.
Bawa turned pro the following season, spending the year in the
IHL with the
Fort Wayne Komets
The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...
. While Bawa had been primarily a skill player in junior, he began to fight more often in pro hockey and developed into an enforcer. He averaged over 200 penalty minutes in his first three years in Washington's system, finally earning a five-game callup to the Capitals in
1989–90, during which he scored his first NHL goal, against
Alain Chevrier
Alain Guy Chevrier (born April 23, 1961) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender.
Junior Hockey and Collegiate Career
As a youth, Chevrier played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from C ...
and the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
.
Bawa played one more season in the Capitals' system, posting 381 penalty minutes in Fort Wayne but not seeing any more NHL action, before being dealt to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
in 1991. He played two games for the Canucks in
1991–92, and set a career high with 27 goals in the IHL. He also dressed up for one game in the 1992 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Canucks, his only playoff appearance in the NHL.
Early in the
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
season, Bawa was dealt to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
, where he had his most prolonged NHL stint. He spent most of the rest of the season in the NHL, scoring 5 goals in 42 games and posting 47 penalty minutes.
Bawa was exposed in the
1993 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 1993–94 season, the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The draft took pl ...
and claimed by the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Mighty may refer to:
* ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album)
* ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album)
* ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film
*'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film
* ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title
* ...
. He played 12 more NHL games in
1993–94, registering his only career assist.
Following his release from the Ducks, Bawa continued to toil in the IHL for five more seasons, three of those back in Fort Wayne, before a concussion ended his career near the end of the 1998–99 season. He finished his IHL career with 147 goals and 175 assists in 565 career games along with 1,869 penalty minutes.
Bawa is the first person of Indian descent to play in the NHL, where he achieved six goals and one assist in 61 games, while collecting 60 penalty minutes.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards and achievements
* WHL West First All-Star Team (1986–87)
See also
*
List of Indian NHL players
External links
*
Article profiling hockey players of South Asian origin including Robin Bawa - By Neil Acharya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawa, Robin
1966 births
Baltimore Skipjacks players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Canadian sportspeople of Indian descent
Fort Wayne Komets players
Hamilton Canucks players
Ice hockey people from British Columbia
Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players
Kamloops Blazers players
Kamloops Junior Oilers players
Kansas City Blades players
Living people
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players
New Westminster Bruins players
People from Duncan, British Columbia
San Diego Gulls (IHL) players
San Francisco Spiders players
San Jose Sharks players
Undrafted National Hockey League players
Vancouver Canucks players
Washington Capitals players