Gary John Lupul (April 20, 1959 – July 18, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League.[1]
| Gary Lupul | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 20, 1959 Powell River, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Died |
July 18, 2007 (aged 48) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre/Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Vancouver Canucks | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1979–1986 | ||
Playing career
editBorn and raised in Powell River, British Columbia, Lupul played his junior hockey career with the Nanaimo Clippers and the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League.
He signed a free agent contract with the Canucks a day prior to the team opening their training camp in Powell River. Lupul, at 5-foot-9 in height and 175 pounds, immediately demonstrated his feistiness by fighting Gerry Minor in his first day at training camp.
Lupul, known as the Pride of Powell River, played seven seasons as a forward with the Canucks, from 1979 to 1986. In 1982, he scored five points in 10 playoff games as Vancouver made it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.
Lupul had his best years in 1983 and 1984 playing on a line with Lars Molin and Dave "Tiger" Williams.[2]
In 1984, Lupul was the first NHL player to fight Mario Lemieux and did so in Mario's home debut in his rookie season. Horribly overmatched by the much larger Lemieux, Lupul had to be rescued by goaltender John Garrett, who was then given a game misconduct for being the third player in the fight.[3]
Post-playing career
editFollowing retirement from professional hockey, Lupul was a junior and college scout for the Vancouver Canucks in Ontario.[4] The Canucks first hired him to help Lupul address a substance abuse problem.[1]
Lupul, who was known to have cardiovascular concerns, was found lifeless in his nephew's Burnaby condo.[1][4]
Lupul was of Ukrainian descent.[5][6]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1975–76 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCJHL | 66 | 49 | 68 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Victoria Cougars | WCHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Victoria Cougars | WCHL | 71 | 38 | 63 | 101 | 116 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Victoria Cougars | WCHL | 59 | 37 | 49 | 86 | 79 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 1978–79 | Victoria Cougars | WHL | 71 | 53 | 54 | 107 | 85 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 19 | ||
| 1979–80 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 26 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 51 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1980–81 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 53 | 25 | 32 | 57 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1981–82 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 31 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 41 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 26 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 35 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 40 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 69 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 51 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1984–85 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 66 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 19 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 43 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 76 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1986–87 | EV Brunico | ITA | 42 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Berlin Capitals | GER | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 14 | ||
| 1987–88 | EHC Kloten | SUI | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 293 | 70 | 75 | 145 | 243 | 25 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Canada | WJC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||
References
edit- ^ a b c Powell River's pride, NHL scrapper Gary Lupul dead at 48, By Linda Nguyen and Greg Douglas, Vancouver Sun, July 20, 2007.
- ^ Former Canuck Gary Lupul dead at 48, Staff Reporter, The Province, July 19, 2007.
- ^ Biography of Mario Lemieux, Legends of Hockey.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Linda (2007). "Former Canuck Lupul found dead". CanWest News Service. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
- ^ Windsor Public Library (2006). "Famous Ukrainian-Canadians". Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- ^ Czuboka, Michael (1983). Ukrainian Canadian, eh?. Winnipeg: Communigraphics. p. 158. ISBN 0-920073-00-X.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database