Mike Baumgartner
Michael Baumgartner | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 30, 1949 Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Ice hockey defenseman (retired) |
| Years active | 1971–1976 |
| Known for | Played 17 NHL games with Kansas City Scouts during 1974–75 season |
Michael Edward Baumgartner (born January 30, 1949) is a retired American ice hockey defenseman who appeared in 17 National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Kansas City Scouts during the 1974–75 season. Hailing from Minnesota, Baumgartner played high school hockey prior to enrolling at the University of North Dakota. Selected 60th overall in the 1969 NHL Draft by the Chicago Black Hawks, he was traded before ever suiting up for them. His professional career commenced in 1971 in the Central Hockey League (CHL), where he competed for three seasons before making his NHL debut in 1974. An eye injury curtailed his NHL tenure after just 17 games. He subsequently played a single game in the American Hockey League (AHL) before retiring in 1976.
Playing career
Baumgartner competed at the collegiate level for the University of North Dakota and was chosen in the fifth round of the NHL Draft by the Chicago Black Hawks. After spending two seasons with the Dallas Blackhawks in the CHL, he was traded to the Atlanta Flames in exchange for Lynn Powis on August 30, 1973. Following a productive season tallying 43 points with the Omaha Knights (CHL), he was traded by Atlanta to the Montreal Canadiens for financial compensation. Prior to appearing with Montreal, Baumgartner was sold to the expansion franchise Kansas City Scouts on August 22, 1974.
He made his NHL debut for Kansas City on October 9, 1974, facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs and played his last NHL contest on December 14, 1974, versus the Vancouver Canucks, when an eye injury prematurely ended his career. Over 17 regular-season games, Baumgartner did not register any points. He then participated in one game with the Springfield Indians of the AHL before concluding his playing career.
Following retirement, Baumgartner and his wife Sandy—whom he met at UND where she served as a cheerleader—returned to their hometown of Roseau, Minnesota. There, they engaged in farming for 37 years, cultivating wheat, sunflowers, and grass seeds. As of November 2018, they were parents to four children and grandparents to ten grandchildren.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1964–65 | Roseau High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Roseau High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Roseau High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 29 | 3 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 30 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 33 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 72 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 66 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 72 | 10 | 37 | 47 | 75 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1973–74 | Omaha Knights | CHL | 70 | 7 | 36 | 43 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1974–75 | Kansas City Scouts | NHL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| CHL totals | 214 | 20 | 95 | 115 | 169 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | ||||
| NHL totals | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||