| Paul Cavallini | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | October 13, 1965 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Washington Capitals St. Louis Blues Dallas Stars | ||
| NHL draft | 205th overall, 1984 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1986–1995 | ||
Paul Edward Cavallini (born October 13, 1965) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. He is the younger brother of former player Gino Cavallini, who was his teammate for several years with the St. Louis Blues. In 564 NHL games, Cavallini scored 56 goals and 177 assists.
Cavallini was born on October 13, 1965, in Toronto, Ontario [1] to Italian immigrants Phyllis and Rino Cavallini. [2]
Cavallini graduated from Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School before enrolling at Providence College for his college ice hockey career. [3] Prior to joining the Providence Friars men's ice hockey team, Cavallini was drafted in the 10th round, 205th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 1984 NHL entry draft. [4] Between graduating and joining the Friars, Cavallini lost 20 pounds and began his freshman season at 205. [5] Cavallini helped the Friars advance to the 1985 NCAA National Championship against the RPI Engineers and scored the team's sole goal in their 2–1 loss. [6] He was also named to the All-Freshman Team. [7] Due to his impressive freshman season, Cavallini was recruited by Dave King to join the Candadian Olympic hockey program. [5] [8] Despite leaving college early, Cavallini took courses at the University of Waterloo to finish his degree. [3]
Despite signing a three-year contract with the Canadian Olympic hockey program, [5] Cavallini chose to turn professional in 1986 and signed a contract with the Washington Capitals. [9] He was subsequently assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Whalers and made his debut on March 7, 1986. As his equipment had not arrived in time for the game, he used the stick of a teammate instead. [10]
After playing parts of two seasons with the Capitals, Cavallini was traded to the St. Louis Blues where he would spend almost six seasons including his best campaign, the 1989–90 season. He played in the 1990 All-Star game and led the league in plus/minus rating that season. He then returned to the Capitals for a second tour during the 1992–93 NHL season in a trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Blues. Cavallini would once again be traded by the Capitals, this time to the Dallas Stars where he would play until his retirement a few weeks into the 1995–96 NHL season. [11]
Cavallini missed 13 games during the 1990–91 season with a left index finger injury after blocking a slapshot from Doug Wilson. The force of Wilson's shot severed the tip of Cavallini's finger, and doctors were unable to reattach the tip in surgery. [12] Shortly thereafter, a local radio disc jockey acquired the tip of his finger from a pathology clerk and announced that he would be putting it up for a charity auction. However, due to the outrage this received, the clerk was fired, and the disc jockey apologized. [13] [14] Cavallini remained on the sidelines until January 25 against the Detroit Red Wings. [15]
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 1984–85 | [16] |
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1981–82 | Dixie Beehives | OPJHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Henry Carr Crusaders | MetJHL | 35 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 191 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Henry Carr Crusaders | MetJHL | 54 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 190 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Providence College | HE | 45 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Canada | Intl | 52 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 15 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 56 | ||
| 1986–87 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 66 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 188 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 35 | ||
| 1987–88 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 48 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 86 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 26 | ||
| 1988–89 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 65 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 128 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 1989–90 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 106 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 1990–91 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 67 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 89 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 1991–92 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 66 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 95 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1992–93 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 71 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 46 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 1993–94 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 74 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 82 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 44 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 564 | 56 | 177 | 233 | 750 | 69 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 114 | ||||