Dale Hunter
| Dale Hunter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
July 31, 1960 Petrolia, Ontario, Canada |
||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Quebec Nordiques Washington Capitals Colorado Avalanche |
||
| NHL Draft | 41st overall, 1979 Quebec Nordiques |
||
| Playing career | 1980–1999 | ||
Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current head coach of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Hunter was born in Petrolia, Ontario, but grew up in Oil Springs, Ontario, and was one of three brothers, with Dave and Mark, to play in the NHL.
He was selected 41st overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft and played seven seasons in Quebec.
According to his former Quebec Nordiques coach Michel Bergeron, even though Hunter was nicknamed the "Nuisance" on ice (La Petite Peste in French), he was known to be "humble" in the dressing room and a sort of "gentleman", close to all the players. He was the "perfect player", always the first to arrive at practice and ready to do all his best for the team. Thanks to his charisma, Hunter was a fan favourite in both Quebec and Washington. His leaving made Quebec very sad, and was seen as an obvious "mistake" linked to the team's future decline.
Hunter was traded to the Washington Capitals along with Clint Malarchuk in return for two players and a 1987 first-round draft pick the Nordiques then used to select Joe Sakic.
Hunter served as the team captain for the Capitals. In the 1993 Patrick Division Semifinals between the Capitals and New York Islanders, Hunter had led his team with seven postseason goals, and was suspended 21 games for illegally and viciously checking and separating the shoulder of Isles star Pierre Turgeon. This illegal check occurred after Turgeon had stolen an errant pass of Hunter's and subsequently scored. As Turgeon was celebrating, Hunter came up from behind and checked an unsuspecting Turgeon into the boards. This has gone down as one of the most condemned hits in NHL history and, as such, cemented his legacy as a controversial player. As a result of the incident, Hunter was suspended for the first 21 games of the 1993-94 season.
...
Wikipedia