Robert Edward Leiter (born March 22, 1941) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player, most notably for the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. He spent ten seasons in the NHL and one season in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

between 1962 and 1976.

Playing career

After a junior career that saw him playing on a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

winner with the

Winnipeg Braves The St. James Canadians were a Canadian junior hockey team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League until 2003, folding officially in 2004. The Canadians played out of the St. James Civic Centre, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the Winnipeg Braves, th ...

in 1959, Leiter—whose rights were owned by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

—spent most of the next decade in the minor leagues. Derailed by a bout of tuberculosis, occasional injuries and the perception that he would serve better as a defensive player, he served two seasons for the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario. The Frontenacs play home games at Slush Puppie Place, which opened in 2008. The team's history predates the Ontario Ho ...

of the Eastern Professional Hockey League and six with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, playing only large sections of the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and 1964 seasons with the Bruins. By

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

there was no place on the newly powerful Bruins for Leiter, and he was a fixture on the Bears, where he was a scoring leader his final four seasons.

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, his final year in Hershey, was his best, leading the team in scoring and being named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team. Following that season, the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

bought Leiter from the Bruins, and he became an NHL regular at last. When expansion came in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, Leiter was chosen by the

in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

as its 17th pick. Despite being chosen inauspiciously low, Leiter led the team in scoring in its inaugural year and was a mainstay with his two-way play. He finished second in team scoring the following season. However, injuries and age eroded his scoring skills, and he was released by the Flames early in the 1976 season. Leiter signed with the

Calgary Cowboys The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975 to 1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles ...

of the

to finish the season, after which he retired.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

* Turnbull Cup

MJHL The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

Championship (1959) *

Championship (1959) * AHL Second All-Star Team (1971) * Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

External links

* 1941 births Living people Atlanta Flames players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Boston Bruins players Calgary Cowboys players Canadian ice hockey centres Hershey Bears players Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States San Francisco Seals (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Winnipeg Braves players Winnipeg Maroons players Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) players {{canada-icehockey-centre-1940s-stub