Height: 5-10
Weight: 180
Shoot: L
Born: 10 Mar 1950, Lacombe AB
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Alberta | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | Edmonton | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Edmonton | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Edmonton | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Carlyle Got His Education First • by Terry Jones • The Hockey Spectator • November 24, 1972
Steve Carlyle looked at the road map to hockey success a few years ago and decided to take a different route. He had three ambitions in life. To play for his country, to get a university education, and to become a professional hockey player. In that order. The people who run professional hockey figure that if you have such unlikely desires, they at least ought to be the other way around. And if you MUST have a college education, you ought to at least take a scholarship at some big school in the States. Carlyle didn't buy that. He played for his country as a member of the last Canadian National team for amateurs. He obtained his college education with the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton. And today he's a defenseman with the Alberta Oilers of the World Hockey Association in a lineup that includes former NHL rearguards Al Hamilton, Bob Wall and Doug Barrie. "Nobody should ever compare anybody to Bobby Orr," said University of Alberta athletic director Ed Zemrau one day. "But you have to admit that Carlyle reminds you of him." In college hockey, Carlyle scored like Orr and rushed like him. But more than anything, he dominated the game like Orr. Thus far in his professional career he's been steady if somewhat conservative. Certainly, he hasn't looked out of place. "I can't wait to see what he looks like next year," said Oiler Coach Ray Kinasewich. "With one year of hockey behind him, he's going to be one fine defenseman. Heck, he's that now." Carlyle is a native of the small Alberta town of Bentley and played Tier Two junior hockey with Red Deer as a 16-year-old before being scouted and sought after by the Canadian Nationals. His only regret is that he didn't get into a World Championship with the team. The politics of international hockey robbed him of that chance less than a month before the tournament. The 1967 tournament, scheduled for Winnipeg, was shifted when Canada withdrew over the pro issue. He was the last player bumped from the 1966 team, mostly because of his age and inexperience. While with the Nationals, Carlyle worked on his Arts degree. When the Canadian team idea came to a sudden stop, Carlyle was left with the decision of his life to that point. Invited to the Montreal Canadiens training camp, he refused to show and instead went on a tour of three campuses in Western Canada. "I didn't go to Montreal because I figured I should continue my education. I didn't get any suggestion of what they expected of me. I wanted some sort of assurance that I wouldn't be kept out of University and pushed off to the side somewhere in the minor leagues." The problem with playing college hockey at Canadian universities — which insist on graduating students and not athletes — is that the league schedule is usually less than 25 games. Some junior clubs play 100 games in a season including exhibitions and playoffs. "As a matter of fact I think it helped me," he said. "With the less demanding schedule and the practice time I had a chance to work on the little things. College hockey in Canada is well organized. People play their positions and help each other. When I played junior hockey I sometimes felt I was just out there chasing the puck. I think the coaches take a more academic look at the sport, more along the lines of the football approach. They're like the Russians. They study the game." The decision to play Canadian college hockey resulted in Carlyle, twice named to the national college all-star team, in finally being able to play for his country in a world championship. He was a star with the Canadian team to the World Student Games in 1971. Carlyle is right at home in Edmonton. He was named Athlete of the Year in the city for 1971. |
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Excerpts from Zander Hollander Complete Hockey Handbook, 1975-76 (by Reyn Davis) A mainstay on the Oilers defense, though he's usually denied any rave notices ... Strong but less than flagrantly rough or punishing ... Plays a heady style that hockey purists appreciate ... Well-educated and twice named a Canadian College All-Star ... Last season's total of 25 assists exceeded his combined totals of assists for his first two seasons ... Has been the Oilers player rep, a role that usually leads to nothing but trouble with team management ... Played for Canada's National Team as an 18-year-old, making him the youngest on the team. |
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