Robin N. Bawa (born March 26, 1966) 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 ...

player who spent parts of four seasons 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 1989 and 1994.

Playing career

Bawa spent five productive seasons of junior hockey in the WHL with the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

, but was passed over in the NHL Entry Draft. Finally, after a 57-goal performance in the 1986–87 season, Bawa earned a pro contract from the

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 ...

. Bawa turned pro the following season, spending the year in the IHL with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

. While Bawa had been primarily a skill player in junior, he began to fight more often in pro hockey and developed into an enforcer. He averaged over 200 penalty minutes in his first three years in Washington's system, finally earning a five-game callup to the Capitals in 1989–90, during which he scored his first NHL goal, against

Alain Chevrier Alain Guy Chevrier (born April 23, 1961) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. Junior Hockey and Collegiate Career As a youth, Chevrier played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from ...

and the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

. Bawa played one more season in the Capitals' system, posting 381 penalty minutes in Fort Wayne but not seeing any more NHL action, before being dealt 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 ...

in 1991. He played two games for the Canucks in 1991–92, and set a career high with 27 goals in the IHL. He also dressed up for one game in the 1992 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Canucks, his only playoff appearance in the NHL. Early in the 1992–93 season, Bawa was dealt to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

, where he had his most prolonged NHL stint. He spent most of the rest of the season in the NHL, scoring 5 goals in 42 games and posting 47 penalty minutes. Bawa was exposed in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and claimed by the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

. He played 12 more NHL games in 1993–94, registering his only career assist. Following his release from the Ducks, Bawa continued to toil in the IHL for five more seasons, three of those back in Fort Wayne, before a concussion ended his career near the end of the 1998–99 season. He finished his IHL career with 147 goals and 175 assists in 565 career games along with 1,869 penalty minutes. Bawa is the first person of Indian descent to play in the NHL, where he achieved six goals and one assist in 61 games, while collecting 60 penalty minutes.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

* WHL West First All-Star Team (1986–87) *

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

(2020)

References

External links