Donald Richard "Cleaver" Lever (born
November 14, 1952 in
South Porcupine,
Ontario) is a former
professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the
National Hockey League from
1972–73 until
1986–87.
Playing career
Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the
Vancouver Canucks in the
1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The forward reached the 20-goal mark six times in Vancouver and played for Canada at the 1978 World Championships. Lever was traded to the
Atlanta Flames alongside
Brad Smith in exchange for
Ivan Boldirev and
Darcy Rota on
February 8,
1980. He was later the first captain of the
New Jersey Devils. He was recognized for both his penalty killing and powerplay abilities. Lever played 1020 career NHL games, scoring 313 goals and 367 assists for 680 points.
Awards & achievements
- 1972: OMJHL First All-Star Team
- 1972: OMJHL MVP
- 1982: Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1990-91: Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award
- 2006-07: Head-Coached the Hamilton Bulldogs to their first franchise Calder Cup, AHL championship
Career statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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1969-70 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 2 0 1 1 4 -- -- -- -- --
1970-71 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 59 35 36 71 112 -- -- -- -- --
1971-72 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 69 61 65 126 69 -- -- -- -- --
1972-73 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 12 26 38 49 -- -- -- -- --
1973-74 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 23 25 48 28 -- -- -- -- --
1974-75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 38 30 68 49 5 0 1 1 4
1975-76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 25 40 65 93 2 0 0 0 0
1976-77 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 27 30 57 28 -- -- -- -- --
1977-78 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 17 32 49 58 -- -- -- -- --
1978-79 Vancouver Canucks NHL 71 23 21 44 17 3 2 1 3 2
1979-80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 51 21 17 38 32 -- -- -- -- --
1979-80 Atlanta Flames NHL 28 14 16 30 4 4 1 1 2 0
1980-81 Calgary Flames NHL 62 26 31 57 56 16 4 7 11 20
1981-82 Calgary Flames NHL 23 8 11 19 6 -- -- -- -- --
1981-82 Colorado Rockies NHL 59 22 28 50 20 -- -- -- -- --
1982-83 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 23 30 53 68 -- -- -- -- --
1983-84 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 14 19 33 44 -- -- -- -- --
1984-85 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 10 8 18 31 -- -- -- -- --
1985-86 Rochester Americans AHL 29 6 11 17 16 -- -- -- -- --
1985-86 Buffalo Sabres NHL 29 7 1 8 6 -- -- -- -- --
1986-87 Rochester Americans AHL 57 29 25 54 69 18 4 3 7 14
1986-87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 10 3 2 5 4 -- -- -- -- --
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NHL Totals 1020 313 367 680 593 30 7 10 17 26
Coaching statistics
Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result
1987-88 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1988-89 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1990-91 Rochester Americans AHL Head Coach 80 45 26 9 0 0.619 Lost in Finals
1991-92 Rochester Americans AHL Head Coach 80 37 31 12 0 0.537 Lost in round 3
1992-93 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1993-94 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1994-95 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1995-96 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach
1996-97 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
1997-98 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach
1998-99 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach
1999-00 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate Coach
2000-01 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
2001-02 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant Coach
2002-03 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant Coach
2003-04 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant Coach
2005-06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 35 41 0 4 0.463 Out of Playoffs
2006-07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 43 28 0 9 0.594 Won Championship
2007-08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head Coach 80 36 34 0 10 0.512
Personal life
He has three children, Michael, Sarah, and
Caitlin.
See also
References
External links