Donald Cairns (born October 8, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 9 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies between 1975 and 1977, as well as several years in various minor leagues during his career, which lasted from 1975 to 1978. Selected by the Scouts in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft and the Michigan Stags of the World Hockey Association in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft, Cairns signed with the Scouts and made his NHL debut that year, playing 7 games in the NHL and 33 in and the minor leagues. He played a further 2 NHL games the following year with Colorado, where the Scouts had relocated to, again spending time in the minors, and briefly played one further season before retiring in 1978.
| Don Cairns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 8, 1955 Red Deer, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Kansas City Scouts Colorado Rockies | ||
| NHL draft |
20th overall, 1975 Kansas City Scouts | ||
| WHA draft |
17th overall, 1975 Michigan Stags | ||
| Playing career | 1975–1978 | ||
Early life
editCairns was born in Red Deer, Alberta and was raised in the neighbourhood of Fairview and went to Lord Beaverbrook High School in south Calgary.
Pro hockey career
editCairns was drafted by the Kansas City Scouts in the second round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft.[1] He was also selected by the Michigan Stags in the second round of the World Hockey Association (WHA) Amateur Draft in that same year.
Despite having a respectable minor career his professional one was short lived he bounced around the minors and got called up playing just seven games in the National Hockey League wearing jersey #20 for the Kansas City Scouts. He would end up playing two more games for the Rockies after the Scouts moved after poor season ticket sales in Kansas City.
In Colorado, Cairns would attain his only NHL point, an assist. He retired from hockey after the 1977–1978 season.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1973–74 | Calgary Canucks | AJHL | 54 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 180 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Victoria Cougars | WCHL | 68 | 32 | 37 | 69 | 214 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1975–76 | Kansas City Scouts | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 15 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Port Huron Flags | IHL | 18 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 19 | ||
| 1976–77 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Flint Generals | IHL | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Phoenix Roadrunners | CHL | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ Weldon, Scott. "2011 NHL Entry Draft: Each NHL Team's Best Second Round Pick of All Time". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Game Roster Kansas City Scouts, vs Philadelphia Flyers 17 January 1976 flyershistory.net