Home 5 Inductee 5 Poapst Steve

Poapst Steve

Steve Poapst
Sport: Hockey:   Year Inducted: 2008

A pursuit of excellence led to the NHL for Steve Poapst.

Steve’s skills were on display at an early age but really began to shine in 1983 as a 14 year old with the Smiths Falls Bears in the CJHL.

Combining solid hockey skills with strong academics led to a scholarship at Colgate University. He built a solid four year career at Colgate which culminated with the Captaincy in his senior year on the ice and a Degree in Arts specializing in Geology.

Steve’s journey took him the East Coast Hockey League before he began to make his mark as a stay at home defenceman in the American Hockey League where he would finish with 498 games and 210 points. His stops included Baltimore, Portland, and Norfolk.

Steve’s first taste of the National Hockey League came with a “cup of coffee” 3-game stint in 1995-96 with the Washington Capitals where he scored his first NHL goal.

Beginning in 1999-2000, Steve began a four year run with the Chicago Black Hawks where he would lead the team in regular ice time and penalty killing minutes while anchoring the blue line.

After stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues, and more than 300 games in the NHL, Steve decided it was time to return to Chicago where he started a family with his wife Kelly.

Steve is giving back to the game that was good to him by coaching at the Junior “A” level in Chicago.