Gary Sargent Explained

Position:Defense
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:200
Birth Date:February 18, 1954
Birth Place:Red Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
Career Start:1974
Career End:1983
Draft:48th overall
Draft Year:1974
Draft Team:Los Angeles Kings
Wha Draft:179th overall
Wha Draft Year:1974
Wha Draft Team:Indianapolis Racers
Played For:Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota North Stars
Ntl Team:United States

Gary Alan Sargent (born February 18, 1954) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 402 games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota North Stars between 1975 and 1983. Internationally he played for the American national team at the 1976 Canada Cup. A first-team all-star and league MVP at Bemidji State University, his professional hockey career was cut short by injuries.

Early life

A member of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) nation, he was born on a reservation. Sargent was also an up-and-coming high school baseball and gridiron football player, receiving an offer to sign a professional contract with the Major League Baseball Minnesota Twins as well as several college football scholarship offers. However, Sargent decided to pursue a hockey career instead; his distant cousin Henry Boucha[1] and later his first cousin T. J. Oshie[2] also played in the NHL, while his younger brother Earl Sargent is a former NHL draft choice who played minor league hockey.

Pro career

Sargent was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings with the 48th pick in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft and joined the Kings in 1975 after excelling for the United States national hockey team in the 1973 Ice Hockey World Championship and 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships tournament, where he was voted most valuable defenseman. He was named the Kings' outstanding newcomer after his rookie year. He was also a US team member at the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament and was voted the Kings defenseman of the year in 1976-77. In the 1977–78 season, Sargent tallied 54 points, and had a plus/minus of plus 18 on a team that was minus 2 for the season. However, the Kings failed to re-sign Sargent and he became a free agent.

In the summer of 1978, Sargent signed with his native Minnesota North Stars as a restricted free agent when his contract with the Kings ended. Minnesota had to give up three players to Los Angeles (Rick Hampton, Steve Jensen and Dave Gardner) as compensation, but Sargent quickly became one of his new team's most important defensemen in 1978–79, being on the ice for a league-record 53.1 percent of his team's goals that season. Sargent was selected for the 1980 NHL All-Star game (in Los Angeles) but was unable to participate due to persistent back and knee problems which eventually forced him to retire prematurely in 1983 after missing most of the previous three seasons.

Post career

Sargent returned to the Los Angeles Kings after retiring as a player. He worked as a talent scout for them in 1986–1988.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
1968–69Bemidji High SchoolHS-MN
1969–70Bemidji High SchoolHS-MN51
1970–71Bemidji High SchoolHS-MN
1971–72Bemidji High SchoolHS-MN51
1972–73Bemidji State UniversityNCAA III30 23 24 47 30
1973–74Fargo-Moorhead Sugar KingsMJHL47 37 46 83 78
1974–75Springfield IndiansAHL27 7 17 24 46
1975–76Los Angeles KingsNHL63 8 16 24 36
1976–77Los Angeles KingsNHL80 14 40 54 659 3 4 7 6
1977–78Los Angeles KingsNHL72 7 34 41 522 0 0 0 0
1978–79Minnesota North StarsNHL79 12 32 44 39
1979–80Minnesota North StarsNHL52 13 21 34 224 1 2 3 2
1980–81Minnesota North StarsNHL23 4 7 11 36
1981–82Minnesota North StarsNHL15 0 5 5 18
1982–83Minnesota North StarsNHL18 3 6 9 55 0 2 2 0
NHL totals402 61 161 222 27320 5 7 12 8

International

YearTeamEventGP G A Pts PIM
1973United StatesWC-B7 1 4 5 0
1974United StatesWJC3 0 2 2 0
1976United StatesCC5 0 0 0 2
Junior totals3 0 2 2 0
Senior totals12 1 4 5 2

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hockey: Former North Star Boucha's new book details highs,.... West Central Tribune. 30 December 2017. en. 26 December 2013.
  2. Web site: Billups. Andrea. T.J. Oshie: Five Things to Know About the U.S. Hockey Star. PEOPLE.com. People. 30 December 2017. en. 15 February 2014.