Doug Wickenheiser | |||
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Wickenheiser in 1988
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Born |
Regina, SK, CAN |
March 30, 1961||
Died | January 12, 1999 St. Louis, MO, USA |
(aged 37)||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Washington Capitals New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks St. Louis Blues Montreal Canadiens |
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NHL Draft | 1st overall, 1980 Montreal Canadiens |
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Playing career | 1980–1994 |
Douglas Peter Wickenheiser (March 30, 1961 – January 12, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey player, who was drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.
Wickenheiser was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. A superstar in Major Junior hockey with the Regina Pats, he led the Western Hockey League in goal scoring (89) during the 1979–80 WHL season, captained the Pats to a berth in the Memorial Cup, and was the CHL Player of the Year. Wickenheiser was rated by The Hockey News as the top draft prospect in 1980 and was subsequently selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Many Canadiens' fans, particularly French Canadian fans who desperately wanted the club to select francophone star Denis Savard, were unhappy with the selection, and Montreal media attention soon turned negative. While Wickenheiser struggled to adjust to the NHL game, Savard (drafted third overall) would quickly become a superstar with the Chicago Blackhawks, further angering some Montreal fans.
In his fourth season with the Canadiens, the club lost patience with Wickenheiser's slow development and traded him to the St. Louis Blues. Probably his most famous moment with the Blues was during the 1985–86 playoffs in a game dubbed the "Monday Night Miracle" on May 12, 1986, when after St. Louis made a large comeback against the Calgary Flames, Wickenheiser scored the overtime winner to force a Game 7 in the Campbell Conference Finals. The Blues would however, lose the deciding game 2–1.