Robin Bawa
Sports and Athletics Hockey Sports Person
Robin N. Bawa (born March 26, 1966 in Duncan, British Columbia) is a retired former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994.
Bawa spent 5 productive seasons of junior hockey in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers, but was passed over in the NHL Entry Draft. Finally, after a 57-goal performance in the 1986–87 season, Bawa earned a pro contract from the Washington Capitals. Bawa would turn pro the following season, spending the year in the IHL with the Fort Wayne Komets. While Bawa had been primarily a skill player in junior, he began to fight more often in pro hockey and developed into an enforcer, as that was his best ticket to the NHL. He would average over 200 penalty minutes in his first three years in Washington's system, finally earning a 5-game callup to the Capitals in 1989–90, during which he scored his first NHL goal against Alain Chevrier and the Chicago Blackhawks. Bawa played one more season in the Capitals' system, posting 381 penalty minutes in Fort Wayne but not seeing any more NHL action, before being sold to the Vancouver Canucks in 1991. He played 2 games for the Canucks in 1991–92, and set a career high with 27 goals in the IHL. Early in the 1992–93 season, Bawa would be dealt to the San Jose Sharks, where he would have his most prolonged NHL stint. He spent most of the rest of the season in the NHL, scoring 5 goals in 42 games and posting 47 penalty minutes. Bawa was exposed in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and claimed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He played 12 more NHL games in 1993–94, registering his only career assist. Following his release from the Ducks, Bawa continued to toil in the IHL for 5 more seasons, three of those back in Fort Wayne, before a concussion ended his career near the end of the 1998–99 season. He finished his IHL career with 106 goals and 188 assists in 610 career games along with 635 penalty minutes. Bawa is the first person of Indian descent to play in the NHL, where he achieved six goals and one assist in 61 games, while collecting 60 penalty minutes.