Al Tuer

Al Tuer was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and played his junior for the Regina Pats. It was there that he earned his reputation as a rugged defenseman who was always there for his teammates. In 1982 Al accumulated 486 minutes in penalties. He could play a little, too, but make no mistake the NHL took notice because of his PIM totals.

The LA Kings drafted Al Tuer in 1983 looking for some toughness at the defensive position. He played in 45 games in 1985-86 season, scoring just 1 lonely assist to go with 150 penalty minutes. It was not enough to impress the Kings though. They released him as an unrestricted free agent at year's end.

The Edmonton Oilers signed him in the summer of 1986, but left him exposed on the waiver draft when trying to demote him to the minor leagues before the season even started. The Minnesota North Stars jumped at the chance to take him away from the Oilers organization. He still played most of the season in the minors but got called up to 6 games in the NHL. He even scored his only goal of his career.

Again, however, it was not enough. The North Stars did not resign him. The Hartford Whalers did and Tuer played two years on the farm team, but was called up for six more NHL games over those two years.

Al Tuer played 57 games in the NHL, exceeding expectations of any 186th overall draft pick. He had 1 goal and 1 assist along with 208 penalty minutes.

After he was done playing Tuer coached with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League before becoming a long time NHL scout.