Paul Laus

Paul Laus (born September 26, 1970 in Beamsville, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey player.
==Career==
Born in Beamsville, Ontario, Laus was a Junior B standout with the St. Catharines Falcons before joining the OHL. He spent three years with the Hamilton Steelhawks/Niagara Falls Thunder franchise and was selected 37th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He spent his first three years as a pro in the IHL and ECHL, including a stint with the short-lived Albany Choppers.
The rugged blueliner was claimed by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. His solid defensive work and willingness to take on the toughest players in the league made him a valuable player on the club as it set an NHL record for expansion teams with 83 points. Two years later, he scored two goals and was a workhorse in 21 games as the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup finals. Laus continued to be an enforcer and team leader through the end of the 2000–01 season and was the only person to play in all of the club's first eight seasons. His grit and determination made him a fan favorite and he is still one of the most beloved all-time Panthers along with Scott Mellanby.
However, injuries limited Laus to only 70 games over his last two seasons. After his latest wrist injury in 2002, he never would play another professional game. Eventually, Paul Laus officially retired and moved back to Ontario after being snubbed by the club (see link below).
==Career statistics==
  	  	 	 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	 	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1986–87	St. Catharines Falcons	OHA-B 	 	40 	1 	8 	9 	56 	 	 	 	 	 	
1987–88	Hamilton Steelhawks 	OHL 	 	56 	1 	9 	10 	171 	 	14 	0 	0 	0 	28
1988–89	Niagara Falls Thunder 	OHL 	 	49 	1 	10 	11 	225 	 	15 	0 	5 	5 	56
1989–90	Niagara Falls Thunder 	OHL 	 	60 	13 	35 	48 	231 	 	16 	6 	16 	22 	71
1990–91	Albany Choppers 	IHL 	 	7 	0 	0 	0 	7 	 	 	 	 	 	
1990–91	Knoxville Cherokees 	ECHL 	 	20 	6 	12 	18 	83 	 	 	 	 	 	
1990–91	Muskegon Lumberjacks 	IHL 	 	35 	3 	4 	7 	103 	 	4 	0 	0 	0 	13
1991–92	Muskegon Lumberjacks 	IHL 	 	75 	0 	21 	21 	248 	 	14 	2 	5 	7 	70
1992–93	Cleveland Lumberjacks 	IHL 	 	76 	8 	18 	26 	427 	 	4 	1 	0 	1 	27
1993–94	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	39 	2 	0 	2 	109 	 	 	 	 	 	
1994–95	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	37 	0 	7 	7 	138 	 	 	 	 	 	
1995–96	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	78 	3 	6 	9 	236 	 	21 	2 	6 	8 	62
1996–97	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	77 	0 	12 	12 	313 	 	5 	0 	1 	1 	4
1997–98	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	77 	0 	11 	11 	293 	 	 	 	 	 	
1998–99	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	75 	1 	9 	10 	218 	 	 	 	 	 	
1999–00	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	77 	3 	8 	11 	172 	 	4 	0 	0 	0 	8
2000–01	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	25 	1 	2 	3 	66 	 	 	 	 	 	
2001–02	Florida Panthers 	NHL 	 	45 	4 	3 	7 	157 	 	 	 	 	 	
9 years	Totals 	NHL 	 	530 	14 	58 	72 	1702 	 	30 	2 	7 	9 	74
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==External links==
*The Internet Hockey Database - Paul Laus
*Interview with Paul Laus
Category:Muskegon Lumberjacks (1984–1992) players
Category:Born in 1970
Category:Albany Choppers players
Category:Florida Panthers players
Category:Hamilton Steelhawks alumni
Category:Niagara Falls Thunder alumni
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
Category:St. Catharines Falcons alumni
Category:Retired in 2002
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Cleveland Lumberjacks players
Category:Knoxville Cherokees players