Dale Hawerchuk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dale Hawerchuk |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2001 | |||
Hawerchuk in 2008
|
|||
| Born | April 4, 1963 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
||
| Died | August 18, 2020 (aged 57) Barrie, Ontario, Canada |
||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Winnipeg Jets Buffalo Sabres St. Louis Blues Philadelphia Flyers |
||
| National team | .svg){kind=small} Canada |
||
| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 1981 Winnipeg Jets |
||
| Playing career | 1981–1997 | ||
Dale Martin Hawerchuk (born April 4, 1963 – died August 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He was chosen first overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Draft. Hawerchuk played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 16 seasons. He played for the Jets, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Philadelphia Flyers.
In 1982, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. He was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. After his playing career, Hawerchuk coached the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League from 2010 to 2019.
Contents
Playing Career: From Prodigy to NHL Star
Dale Hawerchuk was a very talented young hockey player. He got his first skates at age two and was skating before he could walk! He started playing competitive hockey at age four.
At a big youth tournament called the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, he scored all eight goals in an 8–1 win in the finals. This broke a record set by the famous player Guy Lafleur.
Junior Hockey Success
In 1979, Hawerchuk was picked by the Cornwall Royals in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was a rare player from Toronto who became a star in that league. In his first year, he scored 103 points and was named Rookie of the Year. He also helped the Royals win the Memorial Cup championship.
In his second junior year, he scored an amazing 81 goals and 183 points! He led the Royals to win their second Memorial Cup in a row. He was named the best junior player in Canada.
Joining the NHL: Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets chose Hawerchuk first overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He was picked ahead of other future Hall of Famers like Ron Francis and Grant Fuhr.
Hawerchuk quickly became the Jets' biggest star. He helped the team improve a lot in just one season. He became the youngest NHL player ever to reach 100 points, finishing with 103 points. This record was later broken by Sidney Crosby. For his amazing first year, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. He also played in the NHL All-Star Game that season.
Hawerchuk continued to be a top scorer. He had over 100 points for five years in a row. His best season was 1984–85, when he scored 53 goals and 130 points.
Moving to Other Teams
In 1990, Hawerchuk was part of a big trade. He moved to the Buffalo Sabres. For the next four years, he kept scoring lots of points.
Later, he played for the St. Louis Blues and the Philadelphia Flyers. In 1997, he retired from playing hockey at age 34 because of a hip injury. His only time reaching the Stanley Cup Finals was with the Flyers in 1997.
Playing for Team Canada
Hawerchuk also played for Team Canada in big international tournaments. He was a key player in the 1987 Canada Cup tournament. In the final game against the Soviet Union, he helped set up the famous winning goal by Mario Lemieux. He was named Canada's MVP for that game. He also helped Canada win the 1991 Canada Cup.
When he retired, Hawerchuk had 518 goals and 891 assists, for a total of 1,409 points. This placed him among the top scorers in NHL history. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. The Arizona Coyotes (the team that used to be the Jets) retired his number 10 jersey in 2007. The new Winnipeg Jets team also honored him with a statue and by not letting any player wear his number 10.
Life After Playing Hockey
After retiring from playing, Dale Hawerchuk stayed involved in hockey.
Coaching Career
In 2007, he became the owner and director of hockey operations for the Orangeville Crushers, a junior hockey team.
On June 4, 2010, the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League named Hawerchuk as their head coach. In his first year, the team was rebuilding. But in his second year, the Colts greatly improved their record. He coached the Colts until 2019.
Personal Life and Legacy
Dale Hawerchuk was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Oshawa, Ontario. He was married to Crystal and they had three children. His son, Ben Hawerchuk, also plays professional hockey.
Illness and Passing
In 2019, Hawerchuk announced he was taking a break from coaching due to health reasons. It was later shared that he had stomach cancer. He passed away on August 18, 2020, at the age of 57.
Awards and Achievements
- RDS Cup (QMJHL Rookie of the Year) (1980)
- Guy Lafleur Trophy (QMJHL Playoff MVP) (1980)
- QMJHL Championships (1980 and 1981)
- Memorial Cup championships (1980 and 1981)
- Jean Béliveau Trophy (QMJHL Scoring Champion) (1981)
- Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (QMJHL Player of the Year) (1981)
- Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP) (1981)
- CHL Player of the Year (1981)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game 5 times (1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1997)
- Calder Memorial Trophy winner (1982)
- World Championships bronze medal (1982 and 1986)
- World Championships silver medal (1989)
- NHL Second Team All-Star Centre (1985)
- Canada Cup Championships (1987 and 1991)
- First NHL player to reach 1000 career NHL games before age 31
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001
- Honored Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
- Member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (2013)
- Inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2011
- Inducted into the Phoenix Coyotes Ring of Honor in 2007. The Jets/Coyotes franchise retired his number 10 on April 5, 2007.
- Honored by the second Winnipeg Jets franchise: named captain of the Jets' alumni squad at the 2016 Heritage Classic, inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2017, and by a statue near the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
- Holds the record for most assists in a period, with five in the second period of Winnipeg's 7-3 win at Los Angeles on March 6, 1984.
See also
In Spanish: Dale Hawerchuk para niños
- Captain (hockey)
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
- List of NHL statistical leaders
