Peter Scamurra

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Peter Scamurra
Born (1955-02-23) February 23, 1955 (age 69)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Washington Capitals
SaiPa
NHL Draft 19th overall, 1975
Washington Capitals
WHA Draft 50th overall, 1975
Cleveland Crusaders
Playing career 1975–1981

Peter Vincent Scamurra (born February 23, 1955) is an American-born former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played 132 games in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals from 1975 to 1979. He was drafted 19th overall in 1975 by the Capitals and 50th overall by the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association.[1]

Hockey career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Scamurra was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in Williamsville, New York. He started playing ice hockey in fifth grade while attending Nichols School.[2] He attended high school at Amherst Central High School and captured the Erie County Interscholastic Conference first singles tennis title, while ranked as a top-ten tennis player in the area.[2]

Junior Hockey[edit]

During his senior year of high school Scamurra played hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers in the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League.[2] There, he was scouted by Bob Johnson, then the coach at the Wisconsin Badgers Ice Hockey Team, which had just won the 1973 NCAA National Championship.[2] Scamurra played 13 games for the University of Wisconsin in 1973-74 as a left winger, when he was offered a contract by Roger Neilson, then head coach of the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association to play defense.[2] He played the final 35 games for the Petes in 1973-74, who were runners-up for the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

Team Canada was represented by the Peterborough Petes in the inaugural 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and Scamurra played for the team, despite being American. He scored one goal in the tournament, and Canada finished with the bronze medal.[3]

Scamurra played for the Petes again in 1974-75, leading defensemen in goals, and finishing with 52 points in 62 games.

Professional Hockey[edit]

Scamurra was selected 19th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1975 NHL Draft, as the highest American taken in the draft that year. At the time he was the first player drafted in the NHL from the Buffalo area, and remained the highest selected from the region until Patrick Kane was selected first overall in the 2007 NHL Draft.[4]

He was invited to a tryout for Team USA in the 1976 Canada Cup but did not make the final team.

Scamurra played in parts of four seasons for the Capitals between 1974 and 1980, but was often sidelined, having four knee surgeries throughout his career.[2] He briefly played in the SM-liiga, playing 16 games for SaiPa in 1980-81.[5]

In 2019, Scamurra was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Scamurra's daughter, Hayley Scamurra, is a professional ice hockey player who played for the Buffalo Beauts of the NWHL and went on to represent the United States in the 2022 Winter Olympics, winning the silver medal with the team.

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1972–73 Niagara Falls Flyers SOJHL 55 12 30 42 48 — — — — —
1973–74 University of Wisconsin B1G 13 2 1 3 18 — — — — —
1973–74 Peterborough Petes OHA 35 3 11 14 12 — — — — —
1974–75 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 62 12 40 52 45 11 2 5 7 12
1975–76 Washington Capitals NHL 58 2 13 15 33 — — — — —
1975–76 Richmond Robins AHL 18 2 1 3 12 — — — — —
1976–77 Washington Capitals NHL 21 0 2 2 8 — — — — —
1976–77 Springfield Indians AHL 11 2 5 7 6 — — — — —
1977–78 Binghamton Dusters AHL 13 2 2 4 20 — — — — —
1978–79 Washington Capitals NHL 30 3 5 8 12 — — — — —
1979–80 Washington Capitals NHL 23 3 5 8 6 — — — — —
1980–81 SaiPa FIN 14 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
1980–81 Binghamton Whalers AHL 6 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 132 8 25 32 59 — — — — —

International[edit]

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1974 Canada WJC 5 2 0 2 12
Junior totals 5 2 0 2 12

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Peter Scamurra – Peterborough Petes". Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Garfinkel, Charlie (1993-11-06). "SCAMURRA FAMILY HAS MADE ITS MARK ON AREA ATHLETICS". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  3. ^ "Canada U20 at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  4. ^ "Buffalo's First Hockey Family: Hayley and Peter Scamurra". The Hockey Writers. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  5. ^ "SaiPa at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  6. ^ Scull Jr., Harry (September 27, 2019). "Peter Scamurra was first Buffalo native to play in the NHL". The Buffalo News.

External links[edit]

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