Pat Verbeek

Lore & Background

Verbeek was drafted 43rd overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1982. He played 20 NHL seasons, recording three 40-goal seasons with over 200 penalty minutes each. He won his only Stanley Cup as a player in 1999. He scored his 500th career goal in 2000. His nickname, 'Little Ball of Hate', was given in 1995 by Glenn Healy.

In Their Own Story

The arena is half-empty at 6 a.m., the ice still cold and unmarked. A single centre skates the full length of the rink, stickhandling a puck back and forth, the slap of the blade on ice echoing off the boards. He's not trying to score. He's running the same three-on-two break he ran a hundred times in Dallas, the same forecheck bite he delivered in the third period of a playoff game when the crowd was on its feet and the puck was buried in the corner. He drops the puck, stops, skates back. The rink is quiet except for the whisper of skates. Somewhere in the rafters, a banner from 1999 hangs in the dark, and his name is in the small print, right where it belongs.

Reader's Guide

Verbeek joined the Dallas Stars on July 3, 1996, as a free agent. He played for the Stars in the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons, recording 50-point seasons each year. In the 1998–99 season, he had 17 goals and 17 assists before suffering a sprained knee injury on April 11, 1999, which kept him out of the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. He returned in game one of the Western Conference Semifinals against the St. Louis Blues.

Did You Know?

• Verbeek is one of only three players with 500 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes.
• He is one of four 500-goal players eligible but not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
• His thumb was cut off in a farming accident in 1985 but was saved by his father and brother.