Aubrey Dit Clapper

Dit Clapper’s Career

• NHL: 1927-47; 20 seasons, 8 out of 10 quality as a forward (by modern standards of PPG) and at least 8 out of 10 quality as a D (by Defensive Point Shares)
• Totals:
  • 228G (8th All Time at his retirement),
  • 246A (6th) for
  • 474P (6th) in
  • 833 games (1st) – Clapper held the record for games played until the 1956-57 season
  • 94.3 PS (5th)
• At his retirement, Clapper was 18th All Time in GPG and PPG, and 20th in APG (minimum 500 games, since Clapper doesn’t meet the qualifiers for APG or PPG)
• At his retirement, Clapper was 6th All Time in Offensive Point Shares and 11th All time in Defensive Point Shares
• Era: Of the 7 players to play in at least 600 games between 1927 and 1947, Clapper is
  • 3rd in Goals, GPG, Points and DPS,
  • 2nd in Assists,
  • 4th in APG and PPG,
  • 1st in OPS, PS and Games
• 82-game average: 22G, 25A for 47P; 9.2 PS
• 3-year peak (1929-32): 44-game average of 26G, 16A for 43P (as a forward)
• Playoffs: 13G, 17A for 30 points in 82 games
• Adjusted: 382G, 508A for 890P
• Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 50A for 88P
• Never Traded.

Dit Clapper’s Accomplishments

• Top 5 in Hart voting twice (’40, ’41)
• Back Check MVP (’39)
• Top 5 Player (by Point Shares) three times (’30, ’39, ’40), Top 10 five times (’38, ’41)
• Top 5 Offensive Player (by Offensive Point Shares) once (’30), Top 10 four times (’31, ’35, ’39)
• Top 5 Defensive Player (by Defensive Point Shares) three times (’38, ’39, ’41), Top 10 four times (’40)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals twice,
    • Top 10 four times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in GPG once,
    • Top 10 three times
  • Single-season totals:
    • Scored 40 goals once (1 of only 5 players to do so at his retirement)
    • 20 goals three times
    • 10 goals (as a defenceman) twice – Clapper scored 10 goals nine times, and Hockey Reference has him as far and away in the leader in terms of number of seasons at his retirement, but he was a forward most of those seasons
• Assists:
  • Top 10 in Assists twice
  • Top 10 in APG once
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points once,
    • Top 10 twice
  • PPG Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG once,
    • Top 10 twice
  • Single-season totals:
    • Scored 60 points once (1 of only 21 players to do so at his retirement)
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star three times
  • 2nd Team three times
  • Note: Clapper is the only player in NHL history to have made an end of season All Star team as both a forward and defenseman

Dit Clapper’s Great Teams

• NHL:
  • Top 2 D (by points) on one Champion (’41 Bruins), one Runner Up (’43 Bruins) and one Final Four (’40 Bruins),
  • Top 3 Forward (led the playoffs in Goals) on one Runner Up (’30 Bruins)
  • Top 3 Forward (led the playoffs in Assists) on one Final Four (’31 Bruins),
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on two Final Fours (’33, ’35 Bruins),
  • Top 4 D (by points) on one Champion (’39 Bruins) and two Final Fours (’38, ’45 Bruins),
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (’29 Bruins) and one Final Four (’28 Bruins),
  • Injured? on one Runner Up (’46 Bruins) – Clapper was the Player-Coach of this team

Clapper was only briefly dominant as a forward but he could clearly play both positions and also coached briefly while he played. A really unique career that deserves to be honoured.