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| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Brian Lawton
Selected in first round
No. 1 overall
by Minnesota North Stars
Born June 29, 1965
 | Position:
Center
Height: 6-0 Weight: 178
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Mount St. Charles (R.I. High School)
Birthplace:
New Brunswick, New Jersey (USA)
Hometown: Cumberland, Rhode
Island |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1979-80 |
Mt. St. Charles | R.I. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1980-81 |
Mt. St. Charles | R.I. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
- | | 1981-82 |
Mt. St. Charles | R.I. H.S. |
26 | 45 |
43 | 88 |
-- | | 1982-83 |
Mt. St. Charles | R.I. H.S. |
23 | 40 |
43 | 83 |
-- |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Championships: 1983 (first place, Pool B)
World Junior Championships: 1983 (fifth place)
Rhode Island High School Championship:
1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 (Mount St. Charles)
USA TODAY R.I. High School Athlete of Year: 1982-83 (MSC)
R.I. High School All-State First Team: 1981-82,
1982-93 (MSC)
Mount St. Charles
Co-Captain: 1982-83
Rhode Island H.S. Points Leader: 1981-82 (MSC) (88 points),
1982-83 (MSC) (83 points)
Miscellaneous: Ranked by NHL Central Scouting Bureau as No. 1 overall
prospect for the 1983 NHL draft. ... Rated in The Hockey News draft preview issue as
No. 5 overall prospect for the 1983 NHL draft. ... Drafted by Verdun in 1982
QMJHL midget draft. ... Played for Team USA at 1983 World Championships Pool
B tournament in Tokyo. ... Signed letter of intent to play at Providence
College during senior year of high school, but changed his mind and
decided to enter pro hockey after becoming first American player drafted
into NHL No. 1 overall. ... Graduated from Mount St. Charles with a 3.2 GPA.
... Mount St. Charles teams went 121-3-2 during Lawton's four years at the
school. ... Grew up in suburban Rhode Island while his father, Richard
Lawton, worked in press room of the Providence Journal-Bulletin newspaper. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 5, 1983 (Minnesota at Los
Angeles)
Numbers: 98, 8, 11 (Minnesota); 17 (N.Y. Rangers);
7 (Hartford);
17 (Quebec); 29 (Boston); 9 (San Jose)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 1993 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1983-1992 |
Minnesota, NYR, Hart.,
Quebec, Boston, S.J. | 483 |
112 | 154 |
266 | 401 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1984-1989 |
Minnesota, Hartford | 11 |
1 | 1 |
2 | 12 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Minnesota WTCN-TV Trophy (Rookie of Year): 1983-84
Minnesota
KSTP-Radio Trophy (Most Improved): 1986-87
Minnesota Emery Edge
Award (+/- Leader): 1986-87 (plus-20)
Minnesota/Dallas Records: Fastest two goals by a rookie (19 seconds
vs. Chicago on Nov. 5, 1983)
1989-90: Played eight regular-season
games for Boston team that went to Stanley Cup Finals, but was not with team
during postseason.
1991-92: Played on first San Jose Sharks team.
Miscellaneous: Was first U.S.-born and trained player to be drafted No. 1
overall at an NHL amateur or entry draft. ... Missed parts of 1983-84 season
with slightly separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Minnesota's Dec.
7, 1983, game vs. Detroit, and with stretched knee ligaments, an injury
suffered during Minnesota's Jan. 27, 1984, game at St. Louis. He did not
return from knee injury until Minnesota's Feb. 29, 1984, game vs. St. Louis. ...
Missed part of Minnesota's 1984 training camp with shoulder injury, suffered
in October 1984. ... Began playing left wing as well as center for Minnesota
in 1985-86 season and spent majority of his remaining NHL years at left
wing. ... Missed part of Minnesota's 1987 training camp with right knee
injury, suffered at Team USA practice for Canada Cup on Aug. 26, 1987.
The injury required arthroscopic surgery. ... Missed parts of 1987-88 season
with broken thumb, an injury suffered in October 1987, and with bruised
ribs, an injury suffered when he collided with teammate Frantisek Musil
during Minnesota's Feb. 24, 1988, game at Toronto. ... Played on line with
Guy Lafleur for N.Y. Rangers in 1988-89. ... Lost two teeth and suffered
12-stitch gash over left eye when he was hit by Perry Anderson's stick
during Hartford's Jan. 27, 1989, game at New Jersey. ... Missed part of
1988-89 season with broken left wrist, an injury suffered when he was
slashed by Robert Picard during Hartford's Jan. 28, 1989, game vs. Quebec.
He did not return to action until Hartford's Feb. 9, 1989, game vs. Buffalo.
... Missed remainder of 1988-89 regular season and start of 1989 playoffs
with sprained ankle, an injury suffered when he crashed into the boards
during Hartford's March 25, 1989, game vs. St. Louis. ... Missed part of
Hartford's 1989 training camp with cracked bone in left foot, an injury
suffered in September 1989. ... Placed on waivers by Hartford and claimed by
Quebec on Dec. 1, 1989. ... Released by Quebec on Feb. 1, 1990. He signed
with Boston as an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 6, 1990. ... Signed with
Los Angeles as an unrestricted free agent on July 27, 1990, but never played
for parent team. ... Signed with San Jose as an unrestricted free agent on
Aug. 9, 1991. ... Missed part of 1991-92 season with foot injury, suffered
during San Jose's Oct. 4, 1991, season-opener at Vancouver -- the first game
in San Jose Sharks history. ... Missed part of 1991-92 season with knee
injury, suffered during San Jose's Nov. 26, 1991, game vs. Vancouver. He did
not return to action until Dec. 16, 1991, game at N.Y. Rangers. ... Was
Sharks team representative to NHLPA in 1991-92. ... Traded by San Jose to New Jersey for future considerations
on Jan. 22, 1993, but never played for parent team.
Lawton Leaves Minnesota:
During his five seasons in Minnesota, Lawton failed to live up to
expectations the team invested in him as a No. 1 overall draft pick. Lawton,
for his part, was upset that the North Stars had not given him more ice time
as a rookie -- instead thinking he could be brought along at a slow pace.
His relationship with the North Stars soured over the years, and finally
came to a head at the end of the team's 1988 training camp, when he failed
to make the roster for the 1988-89 season. When Minnesota attempted to send
him to Kalamazoo of the IHL, Lawton rebelled. He refused to report to the
minors and said he would retire if the North Stars didn't trade him. On Oct.
8, 1988, the team suspended Lawton for refusing his minor league assignment,
but just three days later, they granted his wish by trading him to the New
York Rangers in a multiplayer deal. "This is a happy day for me," Lawton
told The Hockey News at the time of the trade. "I'm very thankful
they moved me and moved me quickly."
Brian Lawton, Player Agent:
Having been San Jose's first team representative to the National Hockey
League Players Association, Lawton knew about the business side of hockey
when he retired. He put that knowledge to use in his next career as a player
agent, which he began right after finishing his studies at the University of
Minnesota in 1993. Early on, he ran Lawton Sport and Financial, working with
friends and ex-teammates as clients. After earning official certification in
1996, Lawton quickly became a prominent agent, working in a partnership with
agent Mike Liut. Lawton eventually sold his business to Octagon Athlete
Representation, one of the United States' largest sports agencies. Based out
of Minneapolis, Lawton became the head of Octagon's hockey division. His
personal experience helps make him a trusted advisor to his dozens of
clients, including David Tanabe, R.J. Umberger, Mark Parrish, Dave Scatchard,
Adrian Aucoin, Barrett Heisten and Deron Quint. He has also represented
Brian Bellows, Sergei Fedorov, Jim Carey, Bret Hedican, Oleg Saprykin, Erik
Rasmussen, Mike Crowley, Kelly Fairchild and Alexander Korolyuk. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Springfield (AHL); Maine (AHL); Phoenix (IHL); Kansas City, Cincinnati (IHL)
Canada Cup: 1984 (fourth place),
1987 (fifth) (injured, did not play)
World Championships: 1987
(seventh place)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Education: Attended the University of St.
Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.) in 1992 and the University of Minnesota in 1993.
Miscellaneous: Turned down offer to
play on 1984 U.S. Olympic team so that he could sign NHL contract with Minnesota. ... Missed 1987 Canada
Cup with knee injury. ... Suspended by San Jose organization on Jan. 7,
1993, for leaving Kansas City (IHL) team during middle of 1992-93 season.
... Took real estate classes during off-seasons of his playing days. ... Was
active in charitable causes during his playing days, including work to
benefit children's cancer research. ... Ran hockey school in Rhode Island
during off-seasons of his playing days. ... Ranked No. 18 on Sports
Illustrated's Dec. 27, 1999, list of the 50 greatest 20th-century
sports figures from the state of Rhode Island.
Personal: Full name is Brian R.
Lawton. ... Son-in-law of Noel Rahn Sr., chairman of The Rahn Group venture
capital company. ... Brother-in-law of former college hockey player Noel
Rahn Jr. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Minnesota traded Lawton, Igor Liba and Rick Bennett to N.Y. Rangers in
exchange for Mark Tinordi, Paul Jerrard, Bret Barnett, Mike Sullivan and Los
Angeles' 1989 third-round pick (Murray Garbutt) on October 11, 1988. At the
time of the trade, Lawton and Liba had been suspended for refusing to accept
a demotion to the minor leagues. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
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