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Bobby Schmautz was born in Saskatoon on
March 28, 1945, grew up on the west side with four brothers and two
sisters, attending Princess Alexandra School and Tech.
He played junior hockey for the Saskatoon
Quakers. He won the Saskatchewan Junior League rookie-of-the-year honors
in his first season, scored 55 goals in his second season and 45 goals
in 42 games in his third season.
Bobby turned professional with Los Angeles
of the Western Hockey League in 1965 and was acquired by Chicago
Blackhawks in the fall of 1967. He divided one season between Chicago
and its Dallas farm team and then played a full season with the Hawks.
After a couple of trades, he wound up in Seattle of the Western League
and was then acquired by Vancouver Canucks of the NHL.
Traded to Boston in February 1974, he would
become an impact player with the Bruins. Five times during his seven
years with the Bruins, the team would lose to the eventual Stanley Cup
champions. Twice they were beaten in the cup finals, once by
Philadelphia and once by Montreal.
Bobby later played
with Edmonton, Colorado and Vancouver before retiring at 36.
In 13 years in the
NHL, he played 764 games, scored 271 goals and 286 assists for 557
points and took 988 minutes in penalties. In Stanley Cup play, he had
another 61 points. He scored an overtime goal, which forced a sixth game
in the dramatic 1978-79 final against Montreal. Bobby also scored a
game-winner in a 5-4 victory for the East in the 1972-73 NHL all-star
game.
At 172 pounds, he was
often told he was too small to play but was a tough jack-of-all-trades. |