| Round | Overall |
| 4 | 23 |
 |
 |
Left-hand shot
Pre-Draft Statistics
| Year | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1963-64 | Niagara Falls | OHA | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Pre-Draft Notes
Spent bulk of 1963-64 season playing Junior B hockey and was available as a call-up to Niagara Falls.
Career Vitals
| First contract: | 1967 |
| Debut: | October 16, 1968 (Toronto vs. Pittsburgh) |
| Final NHL game: | May 7, 1972 (New York vs. Boston) (Cup Finals) |
| Retired: | 1981 |
| Stanley Cup: | Never won |
| Numbers worn: | 8 (Toronto); 8 (New York) |
Career NHL Statistics
Teams: Toronto,
New York
Years: 1968-1972. Playoffs: 1969-1972
| Regular Season | |||||
| GP | G | A | TP | PIM | |
| 4 years | 232 | 25 | 74 | 99 | 553 |
| Stanley Cup Playoffs | |||||
| GP | G | A | TP | PIM | |
| 3 years | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 40 |
| Complete statistics available at NHL.com | |||||
Career Highlights
Won CHL Adams Cup with Tulsa in 1968. ... Set NHL record (since broken) and Toronto Maple Leafs team record (still stands) with eight penalties and 48 penalty minutes in his NHL debut -- Toronto's Oct. 16, 1968, game vs. Pittsburgh. The NHL fined Dorey $175 for being the catalyst of a second-period brawl with the Penguins. ... Led Toronto in penalty minutes in 1968-69 (200) and 1970-71 (198). His 200 penalty minutes were a Toronto Maple Leafs team record (since broken). ... Played in the first game in New England Whalers WHA history on Oct. 12, 1972, vs. Philadelphia. ... Won the inaugural WHA World Trophy championship with New England in 1973. ... Tied for WHA playoff assist lead with 16 for New England in 1973. ... Led WHA playoffs with 41 penalty minutes for New England in 1973. ... Named to WHA All-Star Second Team in 1972-73. ... Played in WHA All-Star Game in 1973, 1974, and 1978. ... Won WHA Avco Trophy with Quebec in 1977.
The WHA Jump
In July of 1972, Dorey was one of the first NHL players to refuse to re-sign with his team and instead get a big pay raise by entering the newly formed WHA with New England Whalers. He was the first member of the New York Rangers to make the leap to the WHA, forcing Rangers GM Emile Francis to offer bigger contracts to other established stars for fear they might follow Dorey's lead. Dorey would spend the rest of his major pro career in the WHA, never returning to the NHL.
Transaction History
Feb. 20, 1972 -- Traded by Toronto to New York in exchange for Pierre Jarry. March 1972 -- WHA rights sold by Ottawa to New England. July 5, 1972 -- Signed with New England (WHA). December 1974 -- Traded by New England (WHA) to Toronto to complete earlier, September 1974, deal that brought Wayne Carleton to New England in exchange for future considerations. October 1976 -- Traded by Birmingham (WHA) to Quebec to complete earlier, June 30, 1976, deal that brought Dale Hoganson to Birmingham in exchange for future considerations.
Significant Injuries
Missed parts of 1969-70 season with back injury and damaged knee ligaments. ... Missed part of 1971-72 season with finger injury. ... Missed remainder of 1971-72 regular season and all but final game of 1972 playoffs with separated shoulder, an injury suffered in New York's Feb. 22, 1972, game at Montreal. The injury required surgery. ... Missed most of 1977-78 season recovering from spinal surgery.
Life Outside the NHL
Full Name: Robert
James Dorey
Nickname:
"Flipper"
Other Post-Draft Teams:
Stamford (OHA Jr. B); Niagara Falls, London (OHA); Rochester (AHL);
Phoenix (WHL); Tulsa (CHL); New England, Toronto, Quebec (WHA);
Philadelphia, New Haven (AHL).
Coaching
Career: Named Kingston (OHL) assistant coach in 1983 and held
position through 1984-85 season. ... Was interim head coach of
Kingston (OHL) for part of 1984-85 season. ... Returned to Kingston
(OHL) as interim head coach during 1987-88 season.
Career Beyond Hockey: Remained
in Kingston, Ontario, and became
an insurance
executive after his retirement.
Family: Older brother of former OHA
player Roger Dorey.
Miscellaneous:
| Selected by Ottawa Nationals in 1972 WHA Draft -- the first-ever WHA Draft -- in February 1972. | Was suspended by the NHL for six games in March 1970 for pushing a linesman. | Took boxing lesssons in his early NHL years and knew Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo. | Wore blue skates duirng Toronto's 1969 training camp but did not wear them in games. |
| Played left wing for New England Whalers for part of 1972-73 WHA season. | Paired on defense with Brad Selwood for New England in 1972-73 and 1973-74. | Played center for New England in team's 1974 WHA playoff series vs. Chicago. | Member of Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni and took part in 2014 Winter Classic events. |
| SNAPSHOT '64 | |
| Total Selected: | 24 |
| Forwards: | 15 |
| Defense: | 7 |
| Goaltenders: | 1 |
| Position n/a: | 1 |
| Major Junior: | 0 |
| College Players: | 0 |
| Canadian: | 23 |
| American: | 0 |
| Euro-Canadian: | 1 |
| Reached NHL: | 9 |
| Won Stanley Cup: | 1 |
| Hall of Fame: | 1 |
| All-Star Game: | 3 |
| Year-end All-Star: | 1 |
| Olympians: | 0 |
| Picks Traded: | 0 |
OTHERS DRAFTED IN 1964