Robert E. Carpenter Jr. (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional ice hockey center who was the head coach of Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League from 2017 to 2018. Prior to that he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons from 1981âÂÂ82 until 1998âÂÂ99. In his NHL career that spanned 18 years, Carpenter played 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and 408 assists for 728 points. He has the distinction of being the second American-born hockey player to be selected in the first round of the NHL entry draft (Mike Ramsey was the first), and the first player to play in the NHL directly from high school after being drafted. Carpenter was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, but grew up in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Bobby Carpenter was born on July 13, 1963, in Beverly, Massachusetts to his parents Bob and Anne. He has an older sister called Robin and a younger brother Ryan who both competed in sports. He grew up in Peabody and his father who worked as a police officer introduced him to hockey at an early age by taking him to Boston Bruins games and when Carpenter was 6 his father built a rink in the familyâÂÂs backyard.
Carpenter would attend St. John's Preparatory School playing for the school's hockey team all four years, going on to have one of the greatest high school careers of all time. He would really show off his potential during his sophomore year, when he would lead the team to a Division I state championship with 54 points in 23 games. His junior year he would appear in 33 games, accumulating 65 points. This would lead to him being named Massachusetts High School Player of the year. His senior year he would only play in 18 games but would still go on to have a 47-point season. He would once again be named Massachusetts player of the year for a second straight year. He would finish his time at the prep with 166 points, the most in school history. He would later be inducted into the St. JohnâÂÂs prep athletics hall of fame in 1986.
He would lead the 1981 U.S. National Junior Team with nine points (5 goals and 4 assists) in five games and was named the teamâÂÂs most valuable player.
After his stint with the world juniors team, Carpenter faced a decision, as Providence College had offered him a spot on their team. So he could either play at the college level for a few years or jump straight to the pros, which he would end up doing.
Carpenter was selected third overall in the 1981 NHL entry draft out of St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts. At the time no American developed player had been drafted that high. In the February 23, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated, Carpenter was featured in a cover story that labeled him the "CanâÂÂt-Miss Kid" and the greatest high school hockey player in history as well as chronicled his potential. During his first season with the Capitals, He would make his NHL debut On October 7, 1981 At just 18 years old he would make his first appearance Vs the Buffalo Sabres scoring 1 goal and tallying 1 assist. He would end up playing all 80 games his rookie year finishing with 32 goals and 67 total points both team records at the time.
Carpenter would be a staple of the Capitals in the early 80s. He would continue to produce solid numbers for the next 2 seasons, having a 69 point season his second year in 1982âÂÂ83 and a 68 point season in 1983-84. Then during his 4th year he would go on to have his best statistical season during 1984-85 when he would a 95 point season scoring 53 goals and 42 assists, making him the first US-born player to score 50 goals in a season. This resulted in him being invited to play in the 1985 NHL All-Star game. He also participated in the Canada Cup tournament as a member of Team USA for the first time in 1984. The following year during the 1985-86 season would be his final full year with the Capitals, having gone on to have a 56 point season. During this time Carpenter would not miss a single game for the capitals all the way from his rookie year into his 6th season, setting a team record 442 consecutive games played in the process.
After 5 full seasons with the capitals Carpenter would be traded. Primarily due to his clashes with head coach Bryan Murray, the Capitals traded Carpenter to the New York Rangers in the deal that sent Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller to Washington during the middle of the 1986âÂÂ87 NHL season. He would only play 28 games for the Rangers when later in the season, he would be dealt again, to the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Marcel Dionne to the Rangers. After playing 15 games with the kings. He would finish the 1986âÂÂ87 season with the United States team at the 1987 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow after the Kings were eliminated in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. Carpenter represented the US nationals for the final time in the 1987 Canada Cup.
LA Kings
After the end of the 1986-87 season Carpenter would go on to play full season with the Kings during the 1987-88 season he would appear in 71 games tallying 19 goals and 33 assists. The following season he would appear in 39 games scoring 11 goals and 15 assists before being traded.
Carpenter would be traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1988âÂÂ89 NHL season. A later year during the 1989-90 season in his first full season with the Bruins he would play in all 80 games. Scoring 25 goals and 31 assists helping guide the Bruins to a presidentâÂÂs trophy and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals making 21 appearances in the playoffs. By this stage of his career, Carpenter was contributing more as a defensive-minded center than the high-scoring superstar whom he was once projected to be. The following year During the 1990-91 season. In December 1990, he got injured in Montreal when his skates went out from under him and he slammed into the boards, shattering his kneecap into six pieces. The injury was initially thought to be career ending. But after his knee was reconstructed with screws and wires, then being put him on a CPM machine for six weeks, 24 hours a day. He would end up making a miraculous comeback the following year. Carpenter made his comeback in 1991-92 and had one of his best single game performances on March 15, 1992 scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in a 5-1 Bruins victory over the Kings. He would finish the year appearing in 60 games scoring 25 goals and 23 assists.
Return to the capitals
Carpenter signed with the Capitals in 1992 and spent one season in his second tour with the team that originally drafted him playing in 68 games.
In 1993, he signed with the New Jersey Devils, where he would play for the final six seasons of his NHL career. During his time with the team he would effectively revise his play style. Now serving as a gritty checking center that was effective in the face off circle, always getting put out against opposing teams best lines. In his first year with the team he would appear in 76 games scoring 33 points as the devils would lose in the Eastern conference finals. In his second year with New Jersey during the lockout-shortened 1994âÂÂ95 NHL season. He would appear in 41 regular season games and 17 playoff games. Being a key part in helping the team win their first Stanley Cup. Carpenter would continue to be a solid defensive player for the team. Playing another 4 seasons with the Devils then retiring after the conclusion of 1998âÂÂ99 season. Putting his 19 year career to an end with 1,178 NHL regular-season games, Carpenter compiled 728 points (320-408). After retirement, Carpenter stayed on as an assistant coach, winning two more cups with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.
Carpenters first international appearance came in 1981 for the U.S. National Junior Team, where he led the team with nine points in five games and was named the teamâÂÂs most valuable player. At the age of 21, Carpenter was selected to represent the United States in the 1984 Canada Cup, Carpenter played in all six games, serving as a key forward and contributing offensively with 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points however USA lost to Sweden in the semifinals. Following the conclusion of his NHL season with the Los Angeles Kings in 1987, Carpenter joined the U.S. national team for the Ice Hockey World Championship in Vienna, Austria, he played in all ten games scored four points (two goals and two assists) as the Americans finished seventh. Later that summer, he represented the United States for the final time as a player in the 1987 Canada Cup, recording three points (one goal and two assists) in five games as the team lost to team Canada in the semifinals.
Carpenter is viewed as an important player in U.S. hockey as he became the first player to jump directly from high school to the NHL. Along with being the first American to score 50 goals in a season. For his contributions Carpenter was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.
One year after retiring from the NHL Carpenter would remain a member of the New Jersey Devils organization. As he would move up and down as an assistant coach for the Devils and their AHL affiliate the Albany river rats. He would win a Stanley cup as an assistant during the 1999-2000 season. Then during the 2001-02 season he would be named head coach of the River rats going 14-42-12 overall. He would then return as an assistant for the Devils the next 2 seasons winning another Stanley cup in 2003.
From 2000 to 2010 he served as the Director of Program Development for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
Carpenter would then become a team consultant for the Toronto Maples leafs from 2009 to 2015. His work for the Toronto Maple Leafs consisted of being a development coach for players from the time they were drafted into the organization until they turn professional, scouting US College and QMJHL hockey, and steering free agents Toronto's way.
In 2017 he joined the Kunlun Red Star as an assistant coach. Later on in the year he would take over as head coach after Mike Keenan was fired. Carpenter would go 7-13 as interim head coach.
In 2019 he would take over interim head coach of EC Kassel Huskies.
In 2024 Carpenter was hired as the head coach of The Winchendon School Girls 19U Program. He coached the team to a 31-26-6 record in his first year.
International
High school/other
He lives with his wife in Massachusetts and has three children, all of whom participate in sports. His oldest child, his daughter Alex Carpenter, is on the Seattle Torrent PWHL team and won Olympic silver in 2014 and gold in 2026 with the United States women's national ice hockey team, in addition to five IIHF Women's World Championship gold medals. His son Robert III "Bobo" had a 2-year entry-level contract with the New York Islanders as of 2019 and played two seasons for their AHL affiliate. He scored his first AHL goal in the third period of his first game. He has also played in played in the ECHL where he won the Kelly cup in 2024 and the EIHL.
Carpenter has also become involved in numerous charity events. Such as In 2016, Carpenter ran the Boston Marathon in three hours and 47 minutes to help raise money for the Last Call Foundation. Having taken up training for the event after leaving a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2017 he ran the event a second time, pushing Denna Laing, women's hockey player who was paralyzed in the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic game, in a special racing wheelchair; they finished with a time of 4:32:30. In the process the two would raise nearly one hundred thousand dollars for a Canton-based nonprofit focused on spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Carpenter also participates in charity games for the Boston Bruins alumni organization.