1962-63 Topps 8 Pat Stapleton Hockey Card (Front)
1962-63 Topps 8 Pat Stapleton Hockey Card (Back)
Card Notes
Looks like a “Tiny Tim” on defense, but he’s cool and shifty and has knack of clearing out of his own end. Pat was drafted from Chicago organization a year ago and made jump to NHL after only one year of professional hockey.
Details
After his decent 1961-62 rookie season in the National Hockey League, Pat Stapleton’s career took a bit of a step back. He played just 21 games for the Boston Bruins in 1962-63, his last with that club. The rest of his season was spent in the EPHL with the Kingston Frontenacs.
Stapleton spent the next two seasons in the WHL with the Portland Buckaroos. In 1964-65, he had an amazing season, scoring 29 goals and assisting 57 for 86 points. This placed him fourth in the league in overall scoring, just six points behind leader Guyle Fielder of the Seattle Totems.
The Buckaroos were regular season and playoff champions under head coach Hal Laycoe. Pat was honoured with the Hal Laycoe Cup as the WHL’s top denfenseman.
Over the summer of 1965, Stapleton was traded from Boston to the Toronto Maple Leafs with Andy Hebenton and Orland Kurtenbach for Ron Stewart. However, when the 1965-66 season started, Pat was with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Pat had eight solid seasons with the Blackhawks before jumping to the World Hockey Association for the 1973-74 season. He played five years in the WHA with the Chicago Cougars, Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers before calling it a career.