Al Iafrate

Al Iafrate
Born (1966-03-21) March 21, 1966
Dearborn, MI, USA
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 240 lb (110 kg; 17 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins
San Jose Sharks
National team  United States
NHL Draft 4th overall, 1984
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1984–1998

Albert Anthony Iafrate (/ˌaɪ.əˈfreɪtiː/ EYE-ə-FRAY-tee; born March 21, 1966) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League between 1984 and 1998. He is perhaps most famous for his extremely hard slap shot. He set a record for velocity during the NHL Skills Competition of 1993, a record which stood for 16 years, at 105.2 miles per hour (169.3 km/h). The record was broken in 2009 by Zdeno Chára of the Boston Bruins with a slap shot at 105.4 mph in Montreal. Iafrate was born in Dearborn, Michigan, but grew up in Livonia, Michigan.

Iafrate was given the nickname "the Planet" by Boston Globe sportswriter Kevin Paul Dupont for his peculiar personality.

Playing career

Iafrate was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft after a standout career with the Detroit Compuware Spitfires and a short but distinguished stay with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Iafrate played for Team USA in the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

He played 799 career NHL games over twelve NHL seasons, scoring 152 goals and 311 assists for 463 points. He also compiled 1301 penalty minutes. His best season statistically was the 1992–93 season, when he scored 25 goals and 41 assists with the Washington Capitals.

Iafrate dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a knee, sciatic nerve damage in his back, and a ruptured appendix. Because of injuries, Iafrate missed all of the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, and played less than 70 NHL games after his 28th birthday, retiring after the 1997-98 season at age 32. Iafrate attempted comebacks during the 1998–99 and 2001–02 seasons, although these comebacks ended during training camp.


Iafrate was previously involved with the research and development department with Warrior Hockey and is currently with BASE Hockey LP as a pro analyst. Iafrate is also the lead consultant for shooting and hockey sticks for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL.

Awards

Selected to four NHL All-Star Games: 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994 Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1992-93.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 Belleville Bulls OHL 10 2 4 6 2 3 0 1 1 5
1984–85 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 68 5 16 21 51 — — — — —
1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 8 25 33 40 10 0 3 3 4
1986–87 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 9 21 30 55 13 1 3 4 11
1987–88 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 22 30 52 80 6 3 4 7 6
1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 13 20 33 72 — — — — —
1989–90 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 21 42 63 135 — — — — —
1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 3 15 18 113 — — — — —
1990–91 Washington Capitals NHL 30 6 8 14 124 10 1 3 4 22
1991–92 Washington Capitals NHL 78 17 34 51 180 7 4 2 6 14
1992–93 Washington Capitals NHL 81 25 41 66 169 6 6 0 6 4
1993–94 Washington Capitals NHL 67 10 35 45 143 — — — — —
1993–94 Boston Bruins NHL 12 5 8 13 20 13 3 1 4 6
1996–97 San Jose Sharks NHL 38 6 9 15 91 — — — — —
1997–98 San Jose Sharks NHL 21 2 7 9 28 6 1 0 1 10
NHL totals 799 152 311 463 1301 71 19 16 35 77

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1984 USA OG 6 0 0 0 2
1998 USA WC 4 0 2 2 6
International totals 10 0 2 2 8

References

    External links

    Preceded by
    Russ Courtnall    		 Toronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
    1984     		Succeeded by
    Wendel Clark
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