Sport: Hockey
Born: September 7, 1979
Town: Ridgewood, New Jersey
Paul Richard Mara was born September 7, 1979 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Paul’s family moved to the Boston suburb of Belmont in the 1980s. Big, fast and coordinated, Paul excelled at several sports, but made his mark as a hockey player in the local youth leagues, and later, at Belmont Hill, a nearby private high school.
Paul played two seasons for the Belmont Hill, which had an excellent hockey program. It produced Mark and Scott Fusco, who each won a Hobey Baker Award in the 1980s, as well as future NHL players Christian Ruutu and Ian Moran. At 17, Paul and his parents decided that he too had a future in the pros, and he joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.
A standout defenseman in junior hockey, Paul was a superb positional player with above-average offensive skills. He projected as a first-round pick in 1997, and sure enough he was taken #7 overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, Paul played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships.
Over the next few seasons Paul yo-yo’d between the minors and the NHL, with Tampa Bay and, after a 2001 trade, the Phoenix Coyotes. Paul saw lots of playing time with Phoenix. He also represented the U.S. at the 2004 World Championships. His best NHL season was 2005–06, when he scored 15 goals and added 32 assists for 47 points. He is most remembered from that year for checking Alex Ovechkin to the ice, and then watching in astonishment with the rest of the NHL as the Capitals superstar whipped the puck into the net while flat on his back. Another weird thing that season was the arrest of Phoenix coach Rick Tocchet, who was involved in a gambling ring with mob ties.
Paul played one year for his hometown Bruins in 2006–07, followed by three years with the Rangers. He also skated for the Ducks and Canadiens before calling a career at age 34. He found his way into coaching in 2017 and was an assistant for the Women’s Olympic team in 2018, helping them win a gold medal. In 2021, Paul coached the minor-league Boston Pride to a league championship.