Eye on the prize

More than 20 years since his days as ‘The Can’t Miss Kid,’ Bobby Carpenter’s career is still thriving

By Gary Trask

He plays with a set of Pings that his father bought him for Christmas way back in 1982. His family and job commitments have prevented him from playing as much as he would have liked during the last few years, but when he is on the golf course he’s both competitive and good natured.

Off the tee, he has a natural right to left draw that he’ll use to his advantage whenever possible and his consistent short game will win him his share of holes. Oh, and before the day is over, you can expect to hear a heavy dose of “Caddyshack” material.

Sound like one of the regulars from your weekend foursome? Guess again. Bobby Carpenter may act like the ordinary double-digit handicapper on the course, but what sets him apart from your regular playing partners is what he has accomplished in the sport that was his first love.

Sports Illustrated made the Peabody-bred Carpenter its cover boy and dubbed him ?The Can’t Miss Kid? in 1981 when he was a high school senior at St. John’s Prep. Since then, he became the first American-born player to be drafted in the first round of the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft and he played in more than 1,000 games. Last spring, as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, Carpenter saw his name get scribbled on the Stanley Cup for the third time in his career.

“Carpy”, who turned 40 this past July, spends his offseason in Alton Bay, N.H. with his wife and fellow Peabody native Julie, his 9-year-old daughter Alexandra, 7-year-old Robert (or “Bo Bo” as he is called by friends and family) and Brendan, 5. It is his family that made his latest trip around the rink with the Cup so special.

“This was the first one out of the three that every one was there and old enough to enjoy,” he said with a great sense of satisfaction following a round of golf at Salem’s Kernwood Country Club. “You always want to win for yourself as a competitor. But this time, it was for my family. I wanted them to be able to experience the thrill.”

Spending time talking about what it’s like to hoist professional sports’ most prestigious prize into the air could have easily filled up all 18 Questions of this interview. But before further delving into his career on the ice, we began our discussion with the game of golf, a sport he has learned to love ever since he first picked up a club after his rookie season in the NHL.

1. North Shore Golf: You obviously enjoy playing the game of golf very much. Is it something that you loved right away?
Bob Carpenter: Oh, for sure. I didn’t start playing until I turned pro. It was great because I had the whole summer off. I could get up in the morning, go work out, play a round of golf and still have a good portion of the day ahead of me. But it’s been tough to play a lot lately. [The Devils] have gone deep into the playoffs three out of the last four years so my offseason hasn’t really begun until July. And that’s when I want to spend time with my family.

2. NSG: What attracts you to the game?
BC: That’s a good question. I guess the fact that it is such a challenge to lower your handicap. In hindsight, that’s another reason why I don’t play as much because I realized just how tough it is. When you’re an 11 you want to be a 10 and when you’re a 10 you want to be a 9. It takes so much time and practice to lower it just one stroke.

3. NSG: When you were playing regularly, what was the lowest you got your handicap, and what is it now?
BC: I had it down to a 9 at one point. That’s when I was playing almost every day. I’d say right now I’m about a 14.

4. NSG: What courses did you play when you were playing on a regular basis?
BC: My father [Bob] and I started as members at Thomson Country Club [in North Reading]. We really loved it there. Then we joined Andover [Country Club] for a few years and once we moved up to New Hampshire in 1986 I joined Laconia Country Club.

5. NSG: Where do you play most of the time nowadays?
BC: Well, like I said, I’m not playing too much these days so I’m not a member anywhere right now. When I do play I bounce around a lot. I’m on the waiting list at Salem [Country Club] so if I get in there I’ll probably make more of an effort to get out and play because that’s such a great course.

6. NSG: Are there a lot of similarities to hockey and golf?
BC: Hockey players are usually pretty good golfers because they have that natural swing and they have the entire summer to play almost every day. But hockey is a team sport and golf is the ultimate individual sport. Golf is a constant mental battle.

7. NSG: Do you watch a lot of golf of TV?
BC: I love to watch those guys when I get the chance. It’s incredible how calm and collected they are on the course. Some of those guys probably would have been sitting on the Titanic, smoking a cigar and just waiting their turn to jump overboard while everyone else was around them in a panic. (Laughs). They’re that cool.

8. NSG: It sounds like you really admire the PGA Tour players. What impresses you the most?
BC: Well, here’s a perfect example. I was playing in a Pro-Am back in 1988, I think. I was paired with Tom Lehman and he asked his caddie how far he was from the hole. His caddie said, ?122 yards? and then he corrected himself and said ?119.? I asked Lehman, ?What’s the difference?? He goes, ?Watch this.?
He took out three balls and said he was going to hit one 119 yards, the next one 122 and then last one 125. It was an elevated green and when we got up the hill I couldn’t believe it. There were the three balls on the green about three yards apart from each other. That’s incredible. It’s second nature to those guys. That’s when I realized I needed to stick to hockey. (Laughs).

9. NSG: That makes for a nice segue way into hockey. What was it like for you to be a high school senior and be on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
BC: To be honest, it was a blur back then because I was so young and I didn’t understand the enormity of it all. I’ve always liked to keep a low profile. Even when I was playing and I got a lot of attention, I didn’t like it. I just tried to block it out and play hockey.

10. NSG: You were the first American-born player to be drafted in the NHL first round and the first American to score 50-goals in a season. Those types of accomplishments must mean a lot to you.
BC: Yeah, they’re nice to think about, but, again, I don’t like to get too caught up in those things. And when I was playing, I was ignorant to what it meant. I went from playing 14 games as a high school senior to 80 games in the NHL six months later. I really didn’t have the time, nor did I want to sit around and read my stats. I always thought that if you spend too much time thinking about what you already did, you’ll find reasons not to push yourself further.

11. NSG: Spoken like a true coach. Did you ever think during your playing days that you’d end up coaching?
BC: No, not really. I played for 18 years and when it was all over I had no idea what I was going to do. We bought some ski passes for the winter and I was actually looking forward to getting away from the rink. But when I got offered the chance by the Devils to coach in the minor leagues in Albany, I was torn. I wasn’t sure what to do but my wife finally said, “Why not try it for a year?” It made sense to me so I gave it a shot and I knew right away that I was going to love it.

12. NSG: How did you know it was for you?
BC: Well, my first year in Albany the team wasn’t very good. The Devils had a lot of injuries that year so a lot of our better players were forced to go and play for the big club. I think we won only 14 games that year. But even after a tough loss, the next morning I couldn’t wait to get to the rink. I loved getting to the office early and getting the team prepared for the next game, no matter how bad things were going. That’s when you know that you really love your job.”

13. NSG: What else do you enjoy about coaching?
BC: It’s just such a challenge. Each kid is an individual case. And like Lou (Lamoriello, the Devils’ president and general manager) says all the time, you have to try and push each player to the max to get the most out of them, without pushing him over the edge. That’s the challenge.

14. NSG: Do you have aspirations to be a head coach in the NHL?
BC: Oh, for sure. But I’m in no hurry. As a head coach there’s a lot more responsibility. As an assistant there’s no pressure, so to speak. I’d love to be a head coach someday but not if it’s going to get in the way of my family. My daughter is already 9 years old. It seems like yesterday I was holding her as a baby. It goes by fast so I want to enjoy it. But if the right situation for a head-coaching job came along, I’d be interested.

15. NSG: You won one Stanley Cup as a player with the Devils in 1995 and you’ve now won two as an assistant coach (2000 and 2003). Is it just as satisfying winning one as a coach as it is a player?
BC: Definitely. It may be even more so because when you’re a player you try to only concern yourself with what you’re doing on the ice and when you’re out there you can only control what you’re doing. As a coach you have to worry about 24 different players. You’re constantly thinking about who’s playing well and who should be playing with who. You’re responsible for the entire team, not just yourself. I was so mentally exhausted after last season, I think I slept for three days straight after we won it.

16. NSG: What’s it like to hoist the Stanley Cup up into the air for the first time?
BC: It was very rewarding, especially since I won it as a veteran. I played in the league for 14 years before I won one. You always wonder if you’re going to be one of those players that never wins it. You play pond hockey when you’re 8 years old and you pretend to score the goal that wins the Stanley Cup. When you actually win it … it’s incredible.

17. NSG: The tradition is that each member of the Stanley Cup winning team gets to take the Cup for a day. What did you do with the Cup when it was in your possession?
BC: This year we had a small family gathering up at our house in New Hampshire. It was really special to see all the kids get to enjoy it. They were playing with it and we took pictures of them sleeping with it. That was a lot of fun. It was a little different than the first time when we had a party with about 700 people. It seemed like everybody I ever met was there. My neighbor is a chef and he organized a big clambake down on the beach. That was pretty wild.

18. NSG: When you look back at your career do you think about the possibility of being inducted into the Hall of Fame?
BC: Oh, not at all. I don’t think I have a chance. But I always say that with my luck, I’ll get elected somehow after I’m dead. You know, they’ll give me one of those courtesy invites when I’m a goner. (Laughs).