Larry Trader Larry J . Trader ( born July 7 , 1963 in Barrys Bay , Ontario ) is a retired ice hockey defenceman . He played a handful of games at the NHL level , but is mostly known for his high scoring in the American Hockey League and overseas . He last played for Varese Hockey Club in Italy . He is the cousin of former NHL player Jim Peplinski . Professional career . Minor league hockey . Growing up playing hockey , Trader developed into a mobile defenceman with a great shot from the blueline . He attracted a lot of attention playing Junior hockey for the Gloucester Rangers of the CJHL . In the 1979 – 80 season , Trader scored 33 points in 50 games as a defenceman and was named CJHL Best Midget - Age Player and invited to the All - star team . His scoring numbers were impressive and the London Knights picked Trader with their 1st pick ( 3rd overall ) to join their team for the 1980 – 81 season . In the OHL , Trader continued to put up big numbers and the NHL took notice . The Detroit Red Wings drafted Trader with their 3rd pick ( 86 overall ) in the 1981 NHL draft . After being selected by the Red Wings , Trader remained on the Knights to develop and he responded by putting up his largest numbers to date . In 68 games that season , Trader scored 19 goals and 37 assists to go along with 161 penalty minutes . With impressive numbers now on his resume , Trader was asked to play for Team Canada in the 1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Scoring five points in the tough 7 - game series , The Red Wings felt Trader was finally ready for the NHL . Playing in the NHL . In the 1982 – 83 season , Trader played 15 games as a rookie and added two assists . He showed promise , but Detroit felt he still needed time to develop and Trader was sent to Detroit ' s minor league affiliate , the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL . In 1983 – 84 , Trader posted 41 points with Adirondack and was second on the team in defensive scoring . Detroit came calling again for the 1984 – 85 season and Trader responded , played great defensive hockey and posting 10 points in 40 games . After a short playoff run , Trader was sent back down for another season with Adirondack . He played in 64 games that season putting up 56 points to lead the team in defensive scoring and was named to the AHL second all - star team . He joined Adirondack in their playoff run and helped them win the Calder Cup over the Hershey Bears in six games . Trader was named AHL ' s Playoff Points and Playoff Assists Leader for 1986 and even scored the Calder Cup - winning goal in game six . After the celebration , Trader received more good news , he had been selected to join the Canadian National Team . Trader played 48 games for the team and scored 20 points . With the help of Wayne Gretzky , Mark Messier , and Mario Lemieux , the 1987 Canadian team won the 1987 Canada Cup , Spengler Cup and a fourth place finish in the 1987 World Championships . During his run with Team Canada , Trader found out over the phone that he was traded to the St . Louis Blues for Lee Norwood on August 7 , 1986 . Trader only made it back to the United States for five games with the Blues in 1986 – 87 , but would join the Blues for a single game in 1987 – 88 before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens on October 13 , 1987 . He was traded along with a 3rd round draft pick for Gaston Gingras and Montreal ' s 3rd round draft pick . He was send down for a short stint with the Sherbrooke Canadiens before playing the remaining 30 games for Montreal while scoring six points . After the season he was let go and was signed as a free agent by the Hartford Whalers on August 3 , 1988 . He would never make it to the parent club , but played out the 1988 – 89 season with the Binghamton Whalers of the AHL where he again lead a team in defensive scoring with his 11 goals and 40 assists . International play . After being let go by Hartford , Trader decided to head overseas . He began his journey in Austria playing for the Klagenfurt AC Trader excelled in the Erste Bank Hockey League and was 4th on the team in scoring with 34 . For the 1990 – 91 season , Trader headed to Italy to play in the Serie A for the Brunico SG . He played with the team for three years amassing 101 total points , before leaving halfway through the 1992 – 93 season to rejoin the Austrian Hockey League and play four games for the Zell am See EK . He would return to Italy for the 1993 – 94 season to play for Hockey Club Varese . Playing in only seven games that year , including the playoffs , he scored two goals and three assists before deciding to retire from playing ice hockey and return to North America . Trader the coach . After returning from Europe , Trader was named head coach of the Brantford Smoke prior to the 1995 – 96 season . He coached the Smoke for three seasons , always with a winning record , but always getting knocked out in the second round of the playoffs . Trader officially retired from coaching after the 1997 – 98 season .