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Saturday, December 1, 2007
Where Are They Now?
St. Paul, MN
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Growing up in St. Paul, Bob Paradise was a young man who excelled at a number of sports. A 1962 graduate of the City of St. Paul’s Cretin High School, Paradise earned all-state honors in football and hockey. In 1965, while attending St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, Bob chose to turn down a professional baseball contract from the Boston Red Sox in order to complete his education at St. Mary's College. Paradise continued to develop his hockey skills on the St. Mary’s team, becoming an all-conference performer in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) for four consecutive years.
After turning pro in 1966, Paradise embarked on a career that would eventually lead him to the National Hockey League. Paradise was a part of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Hockey team and was selected the next year to represent the U.S. in the Ice Hockey World Championship tournament. In June of 1970, Paradise signed as a free agent with the Montreal Voyagers and saw his first sliver of NHL action in 1971 after being traded to the Minnesota North Stars. Eventually, Paradise headed back to the minor leagues for more seasoning and made his way to the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 1972 the Atlanta Flames, an NHL expansion team, purchased his services and finally gave Paradise a career in the NHL.
Paradise managed to sustain his presence with the Atlanta Flames as a defensive-minded player who engaged in a physical style of play. Paradise continued in his role as a conservative defender in the NHL through stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. In 1977, the Washington Capitals sent him back to the Pittsburgh Penguins where Paradise finished his career in the NHL in 1979. In Paradise’s thirteen-year professional career, he played in 567 games, accumulated 8 goals, 54 assists, for a total of 62 points and 393 penalty minutes. In 1989, Paradise was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame located in Eveleth, Minnesota.
Paradise now resides in the city of St. Paul with his wife Maggie and is in the property management business. His son Mark and daughter Danielle are both married and have six children between the two of them. Paradise has some unique ties to the hockey world including his late father-in-law, who was U.S. Hall-of-Famer Bobby Dill, and his daughter-in-law, who is the daughter of Herb and Patty Brooks.
Paradise continues to be involved in the St. Paul community, partnering with other NHL alumni and a group of individuals that he grew up with to provide opportunities for under-privileged children in the West 7th Street area of the city. Paradise also continues to make appearances for local charity hockey games and assorted functions with the NHL.
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