The fourth ever NHL Amateur Draft was held in 1966. It was still a draft of leftovers with sponsorship not completely cleared until the 1969 draft. It all means that the draft was open to players that were not already signed as prospects to NHL teams.
In 1966, there were four rounds with 24 total players picked. 14 of those players went on to spend at least some time in the National Hockey League. Brad Park, the second overall pick by the New York Rangers, was the only player from the 1966 Amateur Draft to surpass 1,000 regular season NHL games over a career. Don Luce was taken by the Rangers in the third round and played just shy of 900 games.
Barry Gibbs was taken first overall by the Boston Bruins. He never became the superstar now expected from first overall picks but he did play almost 800 games in the NHL and was the victim of the league’s lack of parody in the early post-Original 6 days.
Barry Gibbs
Gibbs played three years of junior hockey with the Estevan Bruins from 1964-65 to 1966-67. In 1965-66, the Bruins reached the Western Canada Memorial Cup finals after beating the Fort William Canadiens in the semi-finals. Estevan met up with the mighty Edmonton Oil Kings and fell in six games.
Barry played 796 regular season National Hockey League games between 1967-68 and 1979-80 with the Bruins, Minnesota North Stars, Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings.
Before he became a regular in the NHL, Gibbs had an outstanding year in the Central Hockey League for the 1968-69 season. Playing with the Oklahoma City Blazers, Barry was named the league’s most valuable defenseman. He led the CHL in penalty minutes with 194 in just 55 games. The Blazers placed first overall in the nine team league and reached the playoff finals before falling to the Dallas Black Hawks in five games.
The following year, 1969-70, Gibbs placed fourth in the NHL with 182 penalty minutes behind Keith Magnuson, Carol Vadnais and Bryan Watson. The year after that, Barry got as close to a Stanley Cup championship as he would get. The North Stars reached the semi-finals before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in six games.
Barry’s top offensive season game in 1973-74 with the North Stars. Over 76 regular season games, Gibbs scored nine goals and assisted on 29 for 38 points. Minnesota did not fare well, placing seventh in the eight team West Division and out of playoff contention.
He served as team captain of the St. Louis Blues in his only full season with the club, 1978-79. Two years later, Gibbs played in his final year of pro hockey, all in the CHL. He split the 1980-81 season three ways between the Oklahoma City Stars, Birmingham Bulls and Houston Apollos.
Barry Gibbs – Rookie Card
In a set best known for the first ever WHA cards, the Barry Gibbs rookie card goes pretty much unnoticed in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set. The Gibbs RC appears as number 101 in the set and is valued as a common card. The 1972-73 Topps number 169 card is also considered Barry’s rookie card. He is pictured as a member of the Minnesota North Stars.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1967-68 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1967-68 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CPHL | 41 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 154 |
| 1968-69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1968-69 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 55 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 194 |
| 1969-70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 56 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 182 |
| 1970-71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 68 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 132 |
| 1971-72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 75 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 128 |
| 1972-73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 63 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 54 |
| 1973-74 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 76 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 82 |
| 1974-75 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 37 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 22 |
| 1974-75 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 39 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 39 |
| 1975-76 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 76 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 92 |
| 1976-77 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 66 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 63 |
| 1977-78 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 27 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 |
| 1977-78 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 51 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 45 |
| 1978-79 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 75 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 46 |
| 1979-80 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 63 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 32 |
| 1980-81 | Oklahoma City Stars | CHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| 1980-81 | Birmingham Bulls | CHL | 20 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 49 |
| 1980-81 | Houston Apollos | CHL | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 43 |
| NHL Totals | 796 | 58 | 224 | 282 | 945 |