Robert Harvey Paradise (born April 22, 1944) is an American 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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who appeared in a total of 368

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 ...

(NHL) regular season games between 1971 and 1979. Internationally, Paradise played for the American national team at the

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

and 1977 World Championships, as well as at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

. He is a member of the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials an ...

Playing career

Paradise originally signed as a free agent by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

after playing for the United States national team at the

and 1969

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

. He was later traded to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in 1971, where he made his NHL debut. He also played 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 ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

, and 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 ...

before retiring in 1979. He was also a member of the US national team at the 1977

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the E ...

tournament. In a 2007 interview on

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by the Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

great

Clark Gillies Clark Gillies (April 7, 1954 – January 21, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League between 1974 and 1988. Gillies served as captain of the Island ...

named Paradise as "the toughest guy you ever fought."

Personal life

Paradise grew up in Saint Paul where he earned all-state honors in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and hockey while attending Cretin High School in Saint Paul. He also turned down a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

contract from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 1965, choosing instead complete his education at St. Mary's College. While at the school, Paradise continued to develop his hockey skills, becoming an all-conference performer in the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

for four consecutive years. Paradise is the son-in-law of United States Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Dill. His brother Dick Paradise is also a former professional hockey player.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Transactions

*June, 1970 – Signed as a free agent by Montreal. *May, 1971 – Traded to Minnesota by Montreal with the rights to Gary Gambucci for cash. *June 6, 1972 – Traded to Atlanta by Minnesota for cash. *January 4, 1974 – Traded to Pittsburgh by Atlanta with Chuck Arnason for Al McDonough. *November 26, 1975 – Traded to Washington by Pittsburgh for Washington's 2nd round choice (Greg Malone) in 1976 Amateur Draft. *October 1, 1977 – Traded to Pittsburgh by Washington for the rights to Don Awrey.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise, Bob 1944 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American men's ice hockey defensemen Atlanta Flames players Binghamton Dusters players Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Saint Paul, Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Voyageurs players Muskegon Mohawks players Olympic ice hockey players for the United States Omaha Knights (CHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins players Seattle Totems (WHL) players Springfield Indians players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Washington Capitals players