Harold Druken

Harold Druken (born January 26, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted 36th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He played for the Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs during his National Hockey League (NHL) career, and also played professionally in Switzerland for EHC Basel. Druken spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues with the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates of the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes.

Harold Druken
Born (1979-01-26) January 26, 1979
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Carolina Hurricanes
Toronto Maple Leafs
EHC Basel
NHL Draft 36th overall, 1997
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1999–2010

Playing career

Druken played high school hockey in the US for Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, MA. Druken enjoyed a prolific three-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career, spent with the Detroit/Plymouth Whalers franchise, during which time he was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team in 1997 and OHL Second All-Star Team in 1999.[1] His most productive season in the OHL was a 58-goal, 103-point effort in 1998–99, which was good for seventh in league scoring. He represented Canada at the 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal and became lifelong friends with Roberto Luongo.[2]

Druken was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 36th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft following his OHL rookie season. He turned professional in 1999–2000 and split the season between the Canucks and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He scored 45 points in 47 games with the Crunch, earning him AHL All-Rookie honours, while also appearing in 33 games for Vancouver, scoring 7 goals.

The following season, Druken spent time with the Canucks' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Kansas City Blades, but spent the majority of the campaign with the Canucks, a season in which he appeared in an NHL career-high 55 games and scored 15 goals and 30 points, including a hat-trick on December 8, 2000, against the San Jose Sharks. Druken ended a 13-goal scoring drought late in the season when he scored two goals in a crucial game on April 6, 2001, against the Los Angeles Kings. He scored his second goal of the game just outside the lip of the crease to beat Félix Potvin in overtime, secure a 3–2 win and a Canucks' Stanley Cup playoff berth for the first time in five years.[3] The Canucks finished the season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference and were swept in the opening round by the Colorado Avalanche. Druken contributed one assist in the series, the only NHL playoff appearance of his career.

Following Druken's breakout 30-point campaign of the previous season, he suffered an ankle injury on November 30, 2001, in a game against Colorado[4] and missed the majority of the 2001–02 season.[1] As a result, Druken appeared in just 27 games for the Canucks, scoring 8 points. He was also sent down during the season to the Canucks' new AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, for 11 games, in which he produced at a point-per-game pace with two goals and nine assists.

The injury seemingly derailed Druken's NHL career as he was subsequently bounced around the NHL for the next several seasons in a series of transactions. On November 1, 2002, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes (along with forward Jan Hlaváč) in exchange for defenceman Marek Malík and forward Darren Langdon.[1] On December 11, 2002, he was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes, after which he was picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1] A month later, he was waived once again and was re-acquired by the Hurricanes on January 17, 2003.[1] Druken played the remainder of the season for the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters, then was traded back to the Maple Leafs in the off-season on May 29, 2003, in exchange for defenceman Allan Rourke.[1] With the exception of nine games with the Maple Leafs in 2003–04, Druken spent the rest of his North American professional career in the minor leagues with the St. John's Maple Leafs with 51- and 38-point seasons in 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively.

In 2005–06, Druken went overseas to Switzerland to play for EHC Basel of the Nationalliga A, but appeared in only 18 games, registering 10 points.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1996–97 Detroit Whalers OHL 6327315814 53250
1997–98 Plymouth Whalers OHL 6438448212 15911204
1998–99 Plymouth Whalers OHL 60584510334 109122114
1999–00 Syracuse Crunch AHL 4720254532 41236
1999–00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 33791610 —————
2000–01 Kansas City Blades IHL 15591420 —————
2000–01 Vancouver Canucks NHL 5515153014 40110
2001–02 Manitoba Moose AHL 1129114 —————
2001–02 Vancouver Canucks NHL 274486 —————
2002–03 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 24810188 —————
2002–03 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 60332 —————
2002–03 Vancouver Canucks NHL 31120 —————
2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 140112 —————
2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 50222 —————
2003–04 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 5726255131 —————
2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 90442 —————
2004–05 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 4818203828 —————
2005–06 EHC Basel NL-A 18641034 —————
2008–09 Deer Lake Red Wings NWCSHL 2416284418 137132012
AHL totals 1937492166105 41236
NHL totals 14627366336 40110

International
Harold Druken
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
1999 Winnipeg
Year Team Comp   GPGAPtsPIM
1999 Canada WJC 71122
Junior totals 71122
gollark: Yes, just like [EVERY MINECRAFT BLOCK].
gollark: <@362342259922042892> Bedrock Edition, remember?
gollark: "A hazmat suit is required to visit this location. This is necessary to avoid dying immediately."
gollark: "Welcome to the GreenGlow™ nuclear waste dumping site. Do not swim in the pools of melted reactor cores."
gollark: You can then dump the corium in some place and create a wonderful environmental travesty.

References
  1. "Harold Druken". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  2. "Luongo's tire theft solved? | the Province". 2013-08-14.
  3. "Canucks clinch playoff berth". CBC. 2001-04-06. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  4. "Team defense deserves the credit, Modano says". ESPN. 2001-12-02. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.