Jock Callander

William Darren "Jock" Callander (born April 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current front office executive, part-time assistant coach, and TV analyst for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Jock Callander
Born (1961-04-23) April 23, 1961
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1982–2000

Career

Jock, the younger brother of Drew, replaced a small NHL career with a historic one in the IHL. Never drafted, he had brief stops with the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Tampa Bay Lightning, but with the Muskegon/Cleveland Lumberjacks he was sensational, breaking the all-time points mark during the 1999–2000 season when he registered his 1,383rd career point, breaking the record of Len Thornson.[1]

Callander started slowly in junior with Regina Pats, but in his last two seasons he produced staggering totals of 146 goals and 343 points, leading the league in 1981–82. Nonetheless, he was never drafted by an NHL team, signing with St. Louis as a free agent, though never playing for the Blues. Instead, he had to settle for a start in the CHL and IHL, where he spent the first five pro years of his career. He signed with Pittsburgh, and over the next three years split his time between the Penguins and the IHL.[1]

The highlight of his NHL time came in 1991–92. After playing the whole year with Muskegon, he came up to the Penguins for the playoffs, appearing in a dozen games en route to the Stanley Cup.[2] At the 1992 Victory Celebration for the Pittsburgh Penguins at Three Rivers Stadium, Callander lost his watch to a fan who had inadvertently grabbed it while slapping hands. Over the summer, though, he became a free agent and Pittsburgh did not sign him—he went to Tampa Bay. Callander played eight games with the Lightning and most of the next eight years back in the IHL with Cleveland.

Personal life

Callander retired from hockey following the 1999–2000 season and became an assistant coach for Cleveland in 2000–01 before joining the Houston Aeros the following year.

In 2007, Callander returned to Cleveland to work with the city's then new American Hockey League franchise, the Lake Erie Monsters. He is a color analyst for the team's TV broadcasts,[3] serves as an assistant coach (for games not televised), and works in the team's front office as Vice President of Hockey Affairs and Team Services.[4]

On December 16, 2011, before a Monsters game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Callander had his number 15 retired in honor of his career as a member of the Lumberjacks, as well as his involvement in hockey initiatives in the Cleveland area.[5]

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Regina Blues SJHL 42 44 42 86 24 — — — — —
1978–79 Regina Pats WHL 19 3 2 5 0 — — — — —
1979–80 Providence College ECAC 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1979–80 Regina Pats WHL 39 9 11 20 25 18 8 6 14 0
1979–80 Regina Pats MC — — — — — 4 1 2 3 0
1980–81 Regina Pats WHL 72 67 86 153 37 11 6 7 13 14
1981–82 Regina Pats WHL 71 79 111 190 59 20 13 26 39 37
1982–83 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 68 20 27 47 26 6 0 1 1 9
1983–84 Montana Magic CHL 72 27 32 59 69 — — — — —
1983–84 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1984–85 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 82 39 68 107 86 17 8 13 21 33
1985–86 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 82 39 72 111 121 14 12 11 23 12
1986–87 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 82 54 82 136 110 15 13 7 20 23
1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 41 11 16 27 45 — — — — —
1987–88 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 31 20 36 56 49 6 2 3 5 25
1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 30 6 5 11 20 10 2 5 7 10
1988–89 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 48 25 39 64 40 7 5 5 10 30
1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 30 4 7 11 49 — — — — —
1989–90 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 46 29 49 78 118 15 6 14 20 54
1990–91 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 30 14 20 34 102 — — — — —
1991–92 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 81 42 70 112 160 10 4 10 14 13
1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL — — — — — 12 1 3 4 2
1992–93 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 8 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
1992–93 Atlanta Knights IHL 69 34 50 84 172 9 7 5 12 25
1993–94 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 81 31 70 101 126 — — — — —
1994–95 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 61 24 36 60 90 4 2 2 4 6
1995–96 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 81 42 53 95 150 3 1 0 1 8
1996–97 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 61 20 34 54 56 14 7 6 13 10
1997–98 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 72 20 33 53 105 10 5 6 11 6
1998–99 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 81 28 26 54 121 — — — — —
1999–2000 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 64 16 27 43 83 9 1 5 6 6
IHL totals 1054 477 765 1242 1689 133 73 87 160 251
NHL totals 109 22 29 51 116 22 3 8 11 12

Awards and honors

References
  1. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=781
  2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/c/callajo01.html
  3. http://www.lakeeriemonsters.com/news/index.html?article_id=1736
  4. Monsters' hockey staff - Cleveland Monsters.com
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA23R1IkIOw
  6. Callander bio - Lake Erie Monsters.com
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