Ice hockey player Paul Coffey. Biography, playing career

When mentioning any kind of sport, an association with any country arises. We usually think of England as the birthplace of football, and the United States gave the world the most popular basketball. It's the same with hockey. The words "hockey" and "Canada" to some extent became synonymous. It is this North American country rightfully considered the birthplace of the game. For any Canadian, hockey is more than a sport, it's an integral part of life. According to the number of covered skating rinks per capita, this country occupies a confident first place. If a Canadian boy is born in a Canadian family, be sure, he will definitely be engaged in hockey. At what level, what period of time is the second question, but there is no doubt that the game in his life will be present.

Like every country, Canadians have their own hockey heroes. The names of Gordie Howe, Bobby Hall, Phil Esposito became a household name in Canada. In every time span in Canada there were legends. In the 80-90s one of these heroes was the hockey defender Paul Coffey.

Childhood

Paul was born on June 1, 1961 in the small town of Weston, in the province of Ontario. The number of inhabitants hardly exceeded 10 000 people, but nevertheless, according to the good Canadian tradition, there were several hockey grounds in the city. On one of them in the school team began the career of one of the strongest defenders in the history of not only Canadian, but also world hockey.

Characteristically, Coffey's playing career began as an attacker. And at the school level the performance of the teenager was impressive. Already much later, at the level of student hockey, Paul was transferred to the defensive line, where he received world recognition.

Student hockey

After graduating from the school boy, the name of Paul Coffey was already heard by hockey specialists. A prospective player could, at his choice, determine the place of further study. But Paul and his parents decide to stay in their native province of Ontario and continue their studies at the University of Toronto. Simultaneously with his studies, Paul continues his hockey classes. The first season in the Youth Hockey League Coffey finished, gaining 89 points, which for the debutant was an excellent result. In the second season, the effectiveness of the prospective defender has only increased - already 102 points scored. It was clear that the level of the youth league Coffey has outgrown, and not far off an invitation to the world's strongest league - the NHL.

Career in the NHL

And it happened. In the first round of the draft pick in 1980, a talented young man was selected under the sixth number by the Canadian club Edmonton Oilers. It was a mutually beneficial agreement. The oilmen built a new team, and Paul Coffey was ideally suited to the chosen game model of the Canadian club. Already in his first adult season, Coffey confidently staked a place in the main team. Bright first season can not be named - only 32 points scored in the regular championship, plus 7 points in the playoff matches. But already the second season at the adult level allowed to more fully reveal the potential. Coffey scored 89 points, which for the defender was an excellent result.

Further, Paul Coffey's career in the NHL was only on the increase. The most successful in terms of effectiveness was the 1984/85 season. Paul Coffy scored 126 points in the course of the regular season and added to this indicator an additional 22 points in the playoff series. That year became truly triumphal for hockey players of "Edmonton". The bet on the youth in the early eighties brought fruit. The team, led by the great Wayne Gretzky, managed to realize the dream of their fans and brought to their hometown Stanley Cup.

After playing seven seasons in Edmonton, Paul Coffey moves to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he once again got lucky with his partners. "Penguins" gathered around their star Mario Lemieux team of like-minded people, players imprisoned for attacking actions. That was Coffey. He had no difficulty in joining the "Pittsburgh" and win with this club another Stanley Cup.

Completion of career

After playing for the "Penguins from Pittsburgh" five seasons, Paul Coffey moves to "Los Angeles Kings". As time has shown, this transition can be called a mistake. After the attacking style of "Pittsburgh" for Coffey, it was difficult to change to another game model. In addition, the transferred injuries began to affect, which led to the loss of high-speed qualities. Paul continued to be one of the best defenders of the league, despite the fact that the effectiveness of his noticeably decreased.

Then followed the move to Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and, finally, to Boston. ("Boston Bruins"). 39-year-old Paul because of numerous injuries failed to achieve a decent result. For 18 games he managed to make only 4 assists. The contract with the "Boston Bruins" was torn. At the age of forty, Coffey decided to complete his professional career.

Titles

For 20 years, spent in the NHL, Paul Coffey has established himself as a very versatile player. Speaking in the position of the defender, where reliability is more valued when playing in the defense of their own goal, Paul remained a sharp attacker. Proof of this is the collected 1531 points - the second indicator in the history of the NHL among defenders. Among his club achievements four won Stanley Cup, as part of the national team, Coffey won the Canadian Cup three times. Paul Coffey is a hockey player who won the "James Norris Trophy" prize three times at the end of the season as the best defender of the league. For outstanding achievements in 2004, Coffey was included in the Hall of Hockey Glory.

At the moment, Paul is training in his native Ontario junior team and continues to play hockey for veterans. That's how a sports career developed among one of the best defenders of world hockey.