BY RANDY SCHULTZ – Peter Scamurra will be the first person to tell you that when he was playing on the blue line in the National Hockey League, nobody ever confused him with the legendary Hall of Fame defenseman, Bobby Orr.
“The comparisons begin and end with our knees,” smiled Scamurra.
What the former Western New York native is referring to is the fact that both he and Orr had their professional hockey careers ended early by nagging knee injuries.
“Like a lot of boys during my time, I grew up watching Bobby Orr on TV and trying to be like when I played hockey,” remembered Scamurra, who played just six seasons of pro hockey (1975-81). “But believe me, I was never Bobby Orr.”
Scamurra, who spent parts of four seasons with the Capitals, was taken in the second round, the 19th player taken overall, in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by Washington. That same year he was selected in the fourth round, the 50th player taken overall, by the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association.
“Both leagues were battling over players at that point in time,” stated Scamurra. “The WHA was raiding the NHL for players.
“But there was never too much of a doubt who I was going to sign with. My thought had been to play in the NHL and that’s where I ended up.”
Prior to setting his sights on hockey, Scamurra had other interests. He was the former New York State tennis champion from ages 12 through 18 and, along with his brother, Dave, was Western New York doubles champion.
The North Tonawanda, NY native began on the Town of Tonawanda outdoor rink when he was 10. He played for Nichols School as well as the Buffalo Shamrock teams before his family moved to Amherst.
The years that followed saw the former defenseman play for the Amherst teams in the Ontario Hockey Association, the Amherst juvenile team which won the national championship and a season with the Niagara Falls Flyers in Tier II of the Ontario Hockey Association.
Scamurra then entered the University of Wisconsin on a hockey scholarship. But his stay with the Badgers didn’t last long.
Scamurra figured if he ever wanted to play professional hockey his chances would be better playing Junior A Hockey in Canada. He signed with the Peterborough Petes of the OHA mid-way through the 1973-74 season.
He finished out that campaign and came back to have an outstanding year with them the following season. The big defenseman believes he developed faster playing junior hockey than he would have playing college hockey.
“I learned a lot there,” recalled Scamurra, who played in only 132 NHL games, scoring eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points. “The main thing I had to learn was to take the man out of the play after he got rid of the puck.”
One of the highlights of Scamurra’s Junior career was participating in the first World Junior Championships held in Leningrad in the Soviet Union. It was considered an unofficial tournament that helped set the stage for the first official World Juniors in 1977.
“That’s when I saw for the first time that I could play with some of the best in the world,” commented Scamurra. “That’s when I realized that I might be able to make hockey a career and play professionally.”
Today, at 62, Scamurra still resides and works in the Buffalo, NY area. His daughter, Hayley, plays in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) for the Buffalo Beauts.
“I guess I’m still like many hockey dads and I get nervous watching Hayley play,” said Scamurra, who also played one season in Finland (1980-81) before returning to North America and ending his career with Binghamton of the American Hockey League. “Last season when the Beauts were playing for the Isobel Cup, I was very nervous watching that final game.”
Scamurra is a pioneer, not only being one of the early American-born players breaking into the NHL, but one of the first from Western New York as well.
“It wasn’t easy coming up through the ranks and trying to make it in junior hockey,” concluded Scamurra. “It was a lot of hard work and effort.
“But I’m just glad I got the opportunity.”
