Herb Boxer Herb Boxer ( born June 4 , 1947 in Hancock , Michigan ) is a retired ice hockey winger . Boxer was the first ever American born player drafted to the NHL when he was drafted in the 2nd round ( 17th overall ) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1968 NHL draft . Professional career . College hockey . Boxer started college in nearby Houghton , Michigan at Michigan Technological University in 1966 . He had played hockey in high school and tried out for the team . His freshman year was spent on the junior team , but Boxer showed enough of his skill to make the varsity squad for his sophomore season . Playing on lines with Al Karlander and Brian Watts , Boxer amassed 24 points in the 31 game season . But he also did much more , showing his speed and skill with the puck . Focusing on his studies toward the end of the season , Boxer had no idea that anyone else had even taken notice of his abilities . On June 13 , 1968 , the sixth NHL Draft took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal , and Herb Boxer ' s name was announced as the 17th player taken overall , by the Detroit Red Wings . Boxer was the first American born player ever selected in the NHL draft . " The next day I woke up and planned on meeting some of my friends down at a local restaurant . I walked into the restaurant and I heard somebody say ; ' Hey Herb , I heard you got drafted . ' The person informed me that I had been drafted by Detroit . That was how I found out . There were no phone calls by Detroit . The media wasn ’ t covering it like they do today . Even the university didn ’ t cover it or announce it . I knew that I would be in college for another two years so I really took everything pretty casual . But my future wife , that was another story . She thought I had been drafted . But not by the Red Wings , but by the United States Army . The Vietnam War was in full swing at the time . The U . S . Military had a draft at the time . Thousands of young men were being drafted by the military . So many who heard I had been drafted thought I was on my way to Vietnam . ” Boxer played two more seasons for Michigan Tech , including leading the team in goal scoring during the 1969 – 70 season , finishing with 24 goals and 14 assists . He decided to sign with the Red Wings after graduation , among other offers for his services . " It was 1970 and the US team was holding their training camp , I had a good training camp with them . So what ended up happening was that I had two different hockey organizations wanting my services at the time . There were some good players on the Olympic Team at the time including Henry Boucha , Robbie Ftorek and Mark Howe . I would have loved to have played with them . But Detroit made me an offer and I decided to go with them . ” Detroit offered Boxer an 8 , 000 USD salary to go along with a 7 , 000 USD signing bonus . Minor league hockey . After graduation , Boxer started play with the Fort Worth Wings of the Central Hockey League , reuniting with former teammate Al Karlander . Boxer had a slow start , scoring 17 points in his first season with the Wings , but turning it around with a strong second season . For the 1971 – 72 season , Boxer finished fourth on the team in scoring with 23 goals and 28 assists . He even tacked on six points in Fort Worth ' s short playoff run . After his first season in Fort Worth , Boxer was drafted again , this time by the U . S . Army ; however he wouldn ' t end up serving . Soon after , Boxer was moved to another minor league affiliate when he joined the Virginia Wings of the American Hockey League for the 1972 – 73 season . Boxer continued his great offensive play , scoring 54 points and even helped carry Virginia into the playoffs , losing in the semi - finals to the eventual Calder Cup champions , the Cincinnati Swords . The following season saw more of the same as Boxer finished fifth on his team in scoring with 40 points . Let go by Virginia after the end of the season , Boxer found a short home with the Green Bay Bobcats of the United States Hockey League . He only played a handful of games before heading to Kalamazoo , Michigan to play for the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League . After finishing out the season with Kalamazoo , Boxer was asked to represent the United States in the 1975 World Championship in West Germany . He was released from his contract in February and joined the team , where he was quickly named their Captain . " Bob Johnson was the coach of that team . I got to play with the team for their final six weeks . I figured that this was a great way to end my hockey playing career . I had had a good career . I ended up getting an offer to play in Sweden the following season , but I had enough and was ready to start the next part of my life . " The U . S team took sixth place in the tournament and Boxer retired from playing ice hockey in 1975 . Boxer the coach . After the World Championships , Boxer found a job as a hockey program director for a small place in Rockford , Illinois . He enjoyed the work and in 1976 accepted the position of assistant coach at his alma mater , under his former coach MacInnes . He remained assistant coach for nine years until MacInnes stepped down and named Boxer head coach of the Huskies . During that time , Boxer also coached with the U . S . Junior National Team in 1978 and 1979 . In his first season as head coach , Boxer coached the Huskies to a losing record of 10 - 26 - 4 . His second season saw more of the same with a 15 - 24 - 1 record . However in the 1987 – 88 season , Boxer coached the Huskies to a 20 - 20 - 1 record and was named WCHA Coach of the Year . After their first season without a losing record , the Huskies returned to their losing ways for the next two seasons and Boxer was let go after the 1989 – 90 season . Boxer wouldn ' t return to coaching until 1994 when he stepped in to help the struggling Memphis RiverKings of the Central Hockey League . Boxer helped turn the team around and make the playoffs twice in his three full seasons with the team . The RiverKings even made it to the finals in the 1996 – 97 season . However , Boxer was let go the following season after coaching the RiverKings to a 9 - 23 - 0 record midway through the season . Boxer decided to retire from coaching . Life after hockey . Boxer currently works in Memphis , Tennessee as a technical recruiter for Cook Systems International . He is also the father of Marc Boxer and Jay Boxer , both of whom played college hockey . Boxer is proud of both his hometown and the impact he has had on American born players in the NHL , as told in an interview on NHL . com ; " I come from the twin - city area of Houghton and Hancock , Michigan . It ’ s located on a beautiful spot on Lake Superior . They say that ’ s where hockey was born in the United States . Cyclone Taylor played there in the early days of pro hockey . It has quite a history of hockey . Today , all the youngsters up there , both boys and girls , play hockey . Amateur hockey up there is pretty big as it is around other parts of the United States . ” When asked about what a player should do to make it to the NHL today , Boxer had this to say ; " Today I would tell a kid to listen to their parents and listen to their coaches . Ask a lot of questions of the better players . Learn from their mistakes . Your best friends will be your coaches and your parents . They will help you along the way . With the impact the Americans have made in hockey , it speaks volumes on how far USA Hockey has come as well . Americans are competing on a level equal to the rest of the world . There is no doubt any more that Americans are leaving their mark on the world of hockey . "