Dale DeGray

Dale "Digger" DeGray (born September 3, 1963) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played 153 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was an eighth round selection, 182nd overall, of the Calgary Flames at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres in addition to the Flames before settling into a long minor league career. Internationally, DeGray represented Canada on one occasion; he was a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 1995 World Championship. DeGray is currently the general manager of the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and was named the OHL Executive of the Year in 2010–11.

Dale DeGray
Born (1963-09-03) September 3, 1963
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Calgary Flames
Toronto Maple Leafs
Los Angeles Kings
Buffalo Sabres
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 162nd overall, 1981
Calgary Flames
Playing career 1983–1989
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Canada
World Championships
1995 Sweden Ice hockey

Playing career

The grandson of Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Famer Kelly DeGray, Dale played both hockey and lacrosse in his youth but turned his focus exclusively to hockey in his teens.[1] He played three seasons of junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between 1980 and 1983 where he established a reputation as a rugged defenceman.[2] DeGray scored 50 points in his third season, 1982–83, and added 14 more in the playoffs as the Generals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions.[3][4]

The Calgary Flames selected him in the eighth round, 182nd overall at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft,[5] and he began his professional career in 1983–84 with a 30-point season for the Colorado Flames of the Central Hockey League (CHL). He then spent the majority of three seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Moncton Golden Flames.[3] He was named to the AHL second All-Star Team in 1984–85,[2] and served as captain of the Golden Flames in 1985–86.[6] DeGray appeared in one NHL game that season, making his NHL debut with Calgary on March 6, 1986, against the New York Rangers.[7] He played a part-time role in Calgary in 1986–87; in 27 games with the Flames, DeGray scored six goals and seven assists.[3]

Unable to land a consistent place with Calgary,[1] the Flames traded DeGray to the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 17, 1987, in exchange for a fifth round draft pick.[2] He spent the majority of the 1987–88 NHL season in Toronto where he had 24 points in 56 games and spent some time playing at forward.[1][3] DeGray played only the one season in Toronto as he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Kings.[2] He played a career-high 63 games for the Kings in 1988–89 and posted 28 points with 97 penalties in minutes.[3] After beginning the 1989–90 season with the AHL's New Haven Nighthawks, the Kings traded DeGray on November 24, 1989, to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Bob Halkidis.[2] The six games he played in Buffalo were the last of his NHL career.[3]

DeGray played most of two seasons with the AHL's Rochester Americans before spending the 1991–92 season in Italy with HC Alleghe.[2] He returned to North America and played several seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) for seven teams.[1] He was named to the IHL second All-Star Team on two occasions: 1992–93 with the San Diego Gulls and 1994–95, split between the Detroit Vipers and Cleveland Lumberjacks.[2] In 1995, he also made his lone appearance with the Canadian national team. DeGray scored one goal and one assist in six games for the bronze medal-winning Canadians at the 1995 World Championship.[8] DeGray's final season was 1998–99 when, as a member of the Indianapolis Ice, he suffered a career-ending shoulder injury in a December 10, 1998, game against the Orlando Solar Bears.[3][2]

Coaching and management career

DeGray briefly turned to coaching, where he spent two seasons as the head coach of the United Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs between 1999 and 2001. He led the team to a combined 62–72–14 record in that time.[9] Since 2007, he has been the general manager of the OHL's Owen Sound Attack.[10] DeGray was named the OHL's Executive of the Year in 2010–11 after guiding the Attack to a franchise-best 46–17–5 record, a J. Ross Robertson Cup championship and a place in the 2011 Memorial Cup tournament.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Oshawa Generals OHA 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1980–81 Oshawa Generals OHL 61 11 10 21 93 — — — — —
1981–82 Oshawa Generals OHL 66 11 22 33 162 12 3 4 7 49
1982–83 Oshawa Generals OHL 69 20 30 50 149 17 7 7 14 36
1983–84 Colorado Flames CHL 67 16 14 30 67 6 1 1 2 2
1984–85 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 77 24 37 61 63 — — — — —
1985–86 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 76 10 31 41 128 6 0 1 1 0
1985–86 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1986–87 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 45 10 22 32 57 5 2 1 3 19
1986–87 Calgary Flames NHL 27 6 7 13 29 — — — — —
1987–88 Newmarket Saints AHL 8 2 10 12 8 — — — — —
1987–88 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 56 6 18 24 63 5 0 1 1 16
1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 63 6 22 28 97 8 1 2 3 12
1989–90 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 16 2 10 12 38 — — — — —
1989–90 Rochester Americans AHL 50 6 25 31 118 17 5 6 11 59
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 6 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
1990–91 Rochester Americans AHL 64 9 25 34 121 15 3 4 7 76
1991–92 HC Alleghe Alpenliga 18 10 12 22 74 — — — — —
1991–92 HC Alleghe Italy 18 6 16 22 36 9 0 6 6 10
1992–93 San Diego Gulls IHL 79 18 64 82 181 14 3 11 14 77
1993–94 San Diego Gulls IHL 80 20 50 70 163 9 2 1 3 8
1994–95 Detroit Vipers IHL 14 1 8 9 18 — — — — —
1994–95 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 64 19 49 68 134 4 0 4 4 10
1995–96 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 79 13 46 59 96 16 1 6 7 35
1996–97 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 30 5 16 21 55 — — — — —
1996–97 Manitoba Moose IHL 44 9 15 24 42 — — — — —
1997–98 Manitoba Moose IHL 15 0 7 7 16 — — — — —
1997–98 Quebec Rafales IHL 31 4 9 13 27 — — — — —
1997–98 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 11 1 9 10 4 9 3 7 10 8
1998–99 Indianapolis Ice IHL 27 3 11 14 18 — — — — —
NHL totals 153 18 47 65 195 13 1 3 4 28

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Canada WC 6 1 1 2 6
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gollark: I'm interested in hatchlings due to my lack of egg slots.
gollark: Indeed.

References
  1. Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. p. 194. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
  2. "Dale DeGray biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  3. "Dale DeGray player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  4. Bell, Aaron, ed. (2012). 2012–13 Ontario Hockey League Media Guide. Ontario Hockey League. p. 154.
  5. Ornest, Leo, ed. (1987). 1987–88 Calgary Flames Media Guide. Calgary Flames Hockey Club. p. 47.
  6. Kane, Mike (1986-04-30). "Moncton hosts Wings in must-win games, gets Burridge from Bruins". Schenectady Gazette. p. 26. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  7. Konotopetz, Gyle (1986-03-06). "Ticket to Moncton difficult to digest". Calgary Herald. p. C5. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  8. Podnieks, Andrew, ed. (2011). IIHF Guide & Record Book 2012. International Ice Hockey Federation. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-7710-9598-6.
  9. "Dale DeGray statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  10. "Hockey operations". Owen Sound Attack Hockey Club. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  11. "Owen Sound Attack general manager Dale DeGray named OHL executive of the year". National Hockey League. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
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