Ian Turnbull (ice hockey)
Ian Wayne Turnbull ( born December 22, 1953 in Montreal, Quebec ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (defender), the. 1973-1983 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played Los Angeles Kings and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League
Career
As a junior he played in the Ontario Hockey Association for the Montreal Junior Canadiens. Here he showed that he had to offer as an attacking defender great potential. In the OHA, he moved to the Ottawa 67 's and played there for one year, together with Denis Potvin. In the NHL Amateur Draft 1973 then both were selected in the first round. The Toronto Maple Leafs The rights to Turnbull secured with the fifteenth pick. Also in the Draft of the World Hockey Association, he has been selected. Here the Vancouver Blazers picked up the rights in the sixth round at No. 70
Right in the 1973/74 season he made the jump to the NHL and on the side of Borje Salming could he impress. His development was slowed when he incurred in a duel with Bob Plager of the St. Louis Blues a knee injury. This he only played 22 games in the season 1974/75 and was used to build even with the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League.
After recovering he could play a role as a defender with a strong urge to attack again. In 1977 he started with a small crisis and remained some without Scorer point games. This negative series he finished on the 2nd of February, when he was able to achieve five goals in a 9:1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings and hereby set a record which still apply today for defenders.
Until the beginning of the 1981/82 season he played in Toronto, he was released to the Los Angeles Kings. He was also temporarily let into the farm team for the New Haven Nighthawks in the AHL. A year later, he tried again with the Pittsburgh Penguins to gain a foothold, but after only six missions he hung at the end of the season the skates on the nail.
NHL stats
Records
- 5 goals as a defender in a game (2 February 1977 in Toronto with the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings 9:1)