Doug Wickenheiser
First overall pick by Montreal in 1980.
Doug Wickenheiser, a Canadian centre from Regina, was the first pick in the 1980 NHL draft by Montreal. His selection ahead of local favourite Denis Savard upset many fans and the press. Over ten NHL seasons, he played for five clubs, including the Canadiens, Blues, and Canucks.
Quick Facts
- Played for
- Montreal Canadiens
- St. Louis Blues
- Vancouver Canucks
- New York Rangers
- Washington Capitals
- Position
- Centre
- Shoots
- Left
- Born
- 30 March 1961
- Birthplace
- Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Died
- 12 January 1999
- Place of death
- St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
- Draft
- 1st overall
Facts from the source article.
Career
Doug Wickenheiser was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He played major junior hockey for the Regina Pats, where he led the Western Hockey League with 89 goals in 1979–80, served as team captain during a Memorial Cup run, and was named the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year. The Hockey News ranked him the top prospect for the 1980 NHL draft, and the Montreal Canadiens picked him first overall. Many Canadiens fans, especially French Canadian supporters, had hoped the team would select francophone Denis Savard instead and were disappointed by the choice; Savard later joined Montreal via trade and won the Stanley Cup with them in 1993. Media attention in Montreal quickly turned negative. While Wickenheiser struggled to adjust to the NHL, Savard, chosen third overall, became a star with the Chicago Blackhawks, which further frustrated some fans. After four seasons, Montreal traded Wickenheiser to the St. Louis Blues. His most memorable moment with the Blues came on May 12, 1986, during the "Monday Night Miracle" playoff game, when St. Louis rallied from a large deficit against the Calgary Flames and Wickenheiser scored the overtime winner to force a Game 7 in the Campbell Conference Finals; the Blues lost that deciding game 2–1. He also played for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals, but his last NHL action was in 1989–90. He spent his final four professional seasons in the minors and overseas. Over 556 NHL games, he recorded 111 goals and 165 assists.
Cancer
In August 1994, surgeons removed a rare epithelioid sarcoma from Doug Wickenheiser’s wrist, a cancer he had first noticed four years earlier. The disease returned as inoperable lung cancer in October 1997, and a year later he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died in St. Louis on January 12, 1999, at age 37. His father-in-law, Ted Pepple, wrote a book about his life, The Last Face Off: The Doug Wickenheiser Story, published in March 2000. The Mid-States Club Hockey Association, which oversees St. Louis high school hockey, named its championship trophy for small-school and second-division teams after him.
Legacy
In Regina, Saskatchewan, the local arena in the Lakewood neighborhood, at the corner of Arnason Street and Rochdale Boulevard, is called Doug Wickenheiser Arena. The Western Hockey League gives out the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy each year to its humanitarian of the year, a name change that happened in 2001. The St. Louis Blues have not given out Wickenheiser’s number 14 since his death, but the number has not been officially retired. For parts of the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons, Blues players wore a helmet decal showing a candle wick with the number 14. In 1999, a banner with that same logo was hung permanently in the rafters of the Kiel Center, now called the Enterprise Center. That logo became the symbol for the Fourteen Fund, the Blues’ official charity founded in his memory. All NHL players wore the emblem during the 1999 All-Star Game, and it was sold to the public for a small donation, becoming a popular item for youth hockey players in St. Louis. One of the two high school state championships played at Enterprise Center is named after Wickenheiser.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Doug Wickenheiser born?
Doug Wickenheiser was born on 30 March 1961 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
When did Doug Wickenheiser die?
Doug Wickenheiser died on 12 January 1999 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
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