Height: 5-9
Weight: 165
Shoot: L
Born: 25 Jul 1951, Toronto ON
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1976-77 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1977-78 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1978-79 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1976-77 (by Dan Proudfoot)
Some players are content to toil in the obscurity of Montreal Canadiens' farm system, enjoying the sea air at Halifax, N.S., and dreaming of some day making the big apple and playing at the Montreal Forum. Not Peter Sullivan, who demanded his release from Montreal's Halifax Voyageurs. And Canadiens let him move to the Jets rather than remain miserable. Sullivan turned out to be one of Jets' most important additions of 1975-76, scoring 71 points in the regular season after his argument with the Canadiens caused a late start, and then playing extremely well on the way to the Avco World Trophy. |
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Sullivan Called a 'Slick' Player • by Reyn Davis • The Winnipeg Free Press • October 11, 1979
There are those who think that Peter Sullivan has more moves than any other player in the game. Some even say it. Tom McVie is one of them. "He's as slick a hockey player as I've ever seen," said McVie, the Jets coach. "The great thing about Peter is that everything he does well, he does in full flight. Most players have to slow down to do their thing. Not him though. That's the secret of his success." Now 28, Sullivan is entering his fifth season as a member of the Jets and he brims with excitement. "We're not going to break any records in the NHL right away, but we are going to shock a lot of people," he warns. Peter Gerald Sullivan couldn't wait for the NHL. Now finally approaching the prime of his career, they meet. "And it's about time!" he says, shouting in mock anger. It was back in the fall of 1974 and the Washington Capitals were were holding their first training camp after being admitted to the NHL as an expansion franchise when Sullivan started thinking he was going to make it. McVie did too. The Montreal Canadiens had agreed to send the Capitals one of their top minor leaguers. If he made the Capitals a deal would be worked out. "I wasn't working with the Capitals then, but I was the coach and general manager of their farm team in Dayton," said McVie. "I watched every workout. Well, he just totally destroyed their defense. He totally dominated the Washington camp." "At the time, Washington had 38 players under contract, and most of them couldn't carry his skates. But for the life of me, I still can't understand why Milt Schmidt (then the Capitals' general manager) walked up to Peter and told him to go back to Nova Scotia because he had already signed enough players." Eventually, Sullivan heard the details of a deal that had fallen through. The Canadiens' general manager, Sam Pollock, who so graciously offered his services to the Capitals, decided that $100,000 and their first round draft choice would be ample compensation. Little wonder Washington had reneged. "My only out was World Hockey," said Sullivan. "It was the perfect way for me to show the Canadiens what I could do. They would have left me in Nova Scotia for the rest of my life." During his five seasons in Winnipeg, the Jets colors have gotten into his blood. "I've been brainwashed," he said. "I think we have the best management in hockey. The way the Jets are being built, well it sounds like Montreal all over again. They're going after speedsters up front to play along with some solid, hard checking forwards who will stand up for them, with a big mobile defense behind. Last season, Sullivan had his finest year ever, scoring 46 goals and earning 40 assists in 80 games. In the playoffs, he played an instrumental role in the Jets third capture of the Avco Cup, scoring five goals and adding nine assists in 10 games. He became a great believer in McVie. "If anybody can win with an expansion team, he can," said Sullivan. "He can be described in two words — a winner. All he wants is 100 percent. As long as you give that, he has no beefs. When new players come here they ask 'why do you skate so hard? Why do you work so hard? It's only practice'. But around here you do everything at 100 percent. You practice like you play." When you have won as many games as the Jets have, resigning to a fate of mediocrity is unthinkable. In one form or another the Jets will be best. |
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