Over the years, some great players have slipped through the cracks and never gotten their opportunity to shine on the NHL stage.
In Dale Derkatch's case, it was never a question of his skill, but in his own words, it was that he never tried. Which makes his story all that more unbelievable, as talent just seeped from his pores.
While playing with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League in 1982, he was named rookie-of-the-year after scoring 62 goals and racking up 142 points in 71 games.
The following year, Derkatch won the WHL scoring race with 84 goals, 95 assists (179 points overall) in just 67 games, which was enough to get him an invite to represent Canada at the 1983 World Junior Tournament.
At the World Junior Championship, Derkatch finished third in scoring (3 goals and 4 assists in 7 games) behind only Dave Andreychuk and Mario Lemieux.
Not too bad for a team that also featured the likes of Steve Yzerman, Sylvain Turgeon, Pat Verbeek, Tony Tanti, and Gary Leeman.
The Edmonton Oilers would select Derkatch in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, but because of his size (5'5" 145 lbs.), he&nb ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Daniel Sallows
The One That Got Away: Dale Derkatch Should Have Been an NHL Star
January 3rd, 2010 by Daniel Sallows Leave a reply »
Advertisement