Robert Bruce Affleck (born May 5, 1954) is a Canadian 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 ...

defenceman 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 played in 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 ...

between 1975 and 1984. Currently he serves as an executive for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

, the team with which he spent most of his playing career.

Playing career

Affleck was drafted in the 2nd round (21st overall) in the

1974 NHL Amateur Draft The 1974 NHL amateur draft was the 12th NHL entry draft. It was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to ...

by the

California Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967–68 NHL season, 1967 to 1975–76 NHL season, 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oa ...

from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. He turned pro the following season, and spent the first half of the year with the Seals'

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

farm team in

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

, but was dealt to the St. Louis Blues before he ever played a game in California. He finished the season with a 13-game callup to the Blues, recording 2 assists. In 1975–76, Affleck made the Blues' squad full-time and was a huge success as a mobile, puck-moving defender. He played in all 80 of the team's games, recorded 4 goals and 30 points, and was named the team's Rookie of the Year. His 26 assists were the most of any Blues blueliner. Affleck spent three seasons as a regular in the Blues' lineup. However, by 1977–78 he was struggling, as he slumped to 18 points and a -56 rating on a St. Louis team which finished with just 20 wins and missed the playoffs. In 1978–79, he lost his spot on the Blues, playing only 26 games and spending most of the season in the Central Hockey League, where he was named the league's top defender. For the 1979–80 season, Affleck was sold to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. However, he again spent most of the season in the CHL, where he was named the league's top defender. He did play in 5 games for the Canucks, recording an assist. He signed as a free agent with the

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 ...

for the 1980–81 season, but did not see a game for the Islanders, although he was named the CHL's top defender for the second consecutive season, this time playing for the

Indianapolis Checkers The Indianapolis Checkers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from Indianapolis, Indiana. The Checkers' home arena was the Fairgrounds Coliseum from 1981 to 1985 and Market Square Arena from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1985 to 1987. T ...

. Affleck spent the majority of the next two seasons playing in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, although he returned to Indianapolis for the close of the CHL season and playoffs both years, helping the team to two championships. He returned to Indianapolis full-time for the 1983–84 season, and was named the league's top defender for the third time along with MVP honours. He also received a one-game callup to the Islanders, five years after his last NHL action. He retired at the conclusion of the season. Affleck finished his NHL career with 14 goals and 80 points, along with 86 penalty minutes, in 280 games.

TV and Management career

Following his career, Affleck returned to St. Louis as a TV color commentator and reporter for the

. He currently serves as the team's Vice President of Sales.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Affleck, Bruce 1954 births Living people California Golden Seals draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Crusaders draft picks Dallas Black Hawks players Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Indianapolis Checkers (CHL) players EHC Kloten players New York Islanders players Ice hockey people from Penticton St. Louis Blues announcers St. Louis Blues executives St. Louis Blues players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players Springfield Indians players Vancouver Canucks players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen