From The Archives: Capitals Hope Arrival of Paradise, Paddock Can Turn Tide In Early Years

This article originally appeared in The Hockey News Jan 2, 1976/vol. 29, issue 12.

BY RON WEBER

WASHINGTON— Their last names began with the same letter and they joined the Washington Capitals during Thanksgiving week, but otherwise they have little in common.

One is 31-years-old, the other is 21. One’s a defenseman with 220 NHL games wonder his belt, the other’s a forward, come to play his first game in the big time. One is married, the other single, one is American the other Canadian. The first has a surname that conjures up the image of South Sea Island, the other a place where you saddle horses. But the Capitals and their fans look for long-range, solid contributions from both Bob Paradise and John Paddock.

John Paddock

Paddock came first.

On Monday, Nov. 24. At 6’3”, 195 pounds he was hard to overlook since becoming the Caps’ third round pick of their first amateur draft. Though the one, two and four choices made the big club last season, Paddock spent the entire ‘74-75 season in Richmond. With 26 goals and 206 penalty minutes to show for it, then a playoff overtime game winning goal that sent the Robins into a seventh game with Hershey (that they lost). Paddock merited even closer study in this past training camp.

But, as John explains, “I’m always a slow starter, then there was this real bad chest cold.” Hello again Richmond. Not that John really minded. “I like Richmond, like playing there, lots of ice time. It was best Igo there. Might still be best for me.” Paddock candidly admits.

Maybe. But the might never go back, too. Though he was called up for two reasons: He was going good and the Caps weren’t. In fact, John was going great: three straight two-goal games, the last of which was viewed by coach Milt Schmidt and his assistant Lefty McFadden. In that one, Paddock got the game-tying goal against Springfield with two seconds to go and the winner 40 seconds into overtime. Both were from the slot where most of his scoring will come.

“I don’t have a great shot,” says Paddock “so most of my goals will come in the slot on rebounds or deflections.” Of other facets of his game: “Skating has to be the worst part, so I have to give fast left wingers a shot.” Bob Berry of Los Angeles gave John a shot in his first game up, a blatant slash on the right wrist. “They’re testing me…Once around the league for sure. Same thing in Richmond where most of my penalty minutes last year were before Christmas.” In Berry’s case, Paddock skated away, wrist throbbing, played some hockey at the other end, then came back and scuffled.

Was John nervous that game? “No, not like my first Caps exhibition or my first game in the AHL. But I was tight, and didn’t contribute anything offensively for Nellie (Pyatt) and Blair (Stewart) that first period, just picked up my wingers.”

Before the game was over he had an assist, and the Caps got their biggest victory margin ever in downing L.A. 7-2.

Paddock, the oldest of seven children grew up on a farm near Brandon, Manitoba. The even-ne-wer-comer. Bob Paradise had a less hockey conventional upbringing in St. Paul, Minnesota. After youth play he took a circuitous route to the NHL through St. Mary’s College (Winona’ Minn), the U.S. Olympic team (1968), the U.S. National team, the IHL Muskegon Mohawks and a senior team in Rochester, N.Y.

At age 24, Paradise put aside school teaching (he was a speech and English major in college) and got down to some serious pro hockey…at Omaha, the Montreal Voyageurs and Seattle.

Then Atlanta plucked him in the expansion draft, traded him and Chuck Arnason to Pittsburgh for Al McDonough a year and a half later. On Nov. 26 came the word: He had been sent to Washington in exchange for a second round draft choice.

Paradise wasn’t shocked. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see something else happen (in Pittsburgh),” says Bob who figured he’d go to a team down in the standings, but preferred Washington to some of the other possibilities.

BOB PARADISE…Trade No Shock ■