islesinfo - Bob Cook

Robert Arthur Cook was an original Islander, but he didn't join the Islanders until midway through their inaugural 1972-73 season. The Islanders were looking for some scoring from the right side and in January of 1973 GM Bill Torrey dealt defenseman Ken Murray and left wing Brian Lavender to the Detroit Red Wings for Cook and center Ralph Stewart. It took Cook some time to fit into his new team, but by the end of the season everyone in the Islander organization was pleased with the outcome.

After completing his junior tour with Kitchener and London of the OHA, Bob turned pro with the WHL's Vancouver team in 1966. His best minor league season was a 26 goal performance with Rochester of the AHL in 1970-71.

After six years in the minors during which time he wore the colors of seven different teams, Bob finally got his chance with the Red Wings early in 1972-73. But after seeing little ice time with the Wings, he was enthusiastic about joining the Islanders. Bob's first game with the Islanders was the celebrated 9-7 victory over the Bruins in the Boston Garden January 18, 1973, a game in which he played a major part in the outcome. On March 3rd, Bob registered his first NHL hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks at the Nassau Coliseum. He scored 3 goals against Canuck goaltender Ed Dyck, who coincidentally was Cook's teammate in 1971-72 with the old professional Western Hockey League's Seattle Totems.

In 1973-74 Cook had a terrible start to the season and only recorded 3 points through 22 games as he was in and out of the lineup. He ended up playing a large part of the season with the Baltimore Clippers of the AHL. In 1974-75 Cook began the season with the Islanders CHL affiliate, the Fort Worth Texans. Following another slow start there Torrey sold Cook's rights to the Minnesota North Stars for cash on January 5, 1975. Cook played his final two games in the NHL with the North Stars during the 1974-75 season. He was 29 years old at the time. There are no known statistics for Cook following 1974-75.

Cook is one of three original Islanders to be deceased(Bryan Lefley & Brian Spencer). He has been a bit of a mystery as no one knows the date of his death, or the circumstances. Total Hockey, an official encyclopedia of the NHL released in 1998, lists Cook as deceased. This means he may have possibly died before turning 50 years of age, pretty young for it to have been of natural causes. If anyone has any more information surrounding Bob Cook's death please email the islesinfo administrator at the address located at the bottom of this page.

Fast Fact: Cook is one of three players(Ron Smith & Victor Teal) to wear #22 before Mike Bossy, for whom the number was retired by the Islanders in 1992.

Update: An article published in the London Free Press back in January of 2006 mentioned the late Bob Cook as one of six players who made it to the NHL after playing for a junior B team known as the London Nationals back in the 1950's. islesinfo.com has found out through contact with friends of Cook that he did have an obituary in the London Free Press which states Bob died in March of 1978 in his home at Iona Station, Ontario. He is supposedly buried in a local cemetery in Iona Station. What doesn't match up is after some further research, the NHL Guide & Record Book first lists Cook as deceased in the 1994-95 Edition. Perhaps the publishers received confirmation of his death at a later time. If it's true Cook died in 1978 he was only 32 years old. I have not been able to find out the circumstances of his death as of yet.