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| 1977 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Dale McCourt
Selected in first round
No. 1 overall
by Detroit Red Wings
Born January 26, 1957
 | Position:
Center
Height: 5-10 Weight: 180
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
St. Catharines (OMJHL)
Birthplace: Falconbridge, Ontario (Canada)
Hometown:
Falconbridge, Ontario |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1972-73 |
Welland | Jr. B | 34 |
35 | 28 |
63 | 39 | | |
Sudbury | OMJHL | 26 |
6 | 11 |
17 | 0 | | 1973-74 |
Hamilton | OMJHL |
69 |
20 | 38 |
58 | 45 | | 1974-75 |
Hamilton | OMJHL |
69 |
53 | 71 |
124 | 57 | | 1975-76 |
Hamilton | OMJHL |
66 | 55 |
84 | 139 |
19 | | 1976-77 |
St. Catharines | OMJHL |
66 | 60 |
79 | 139 |
26 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Memorial Cup: 1976 (Hamilton)
World Junior Championships: 1977
(silver medal)
Canadian
Major-Junior Player of Year: 1976-77 (St. Catharines)
Memorial Cup
Smythe Trophy (MVP): 1976 (Hamilton)
OMJHL Tilson Trophy (MVP): 1976-77 (St. Catharines)
CCM OMJHL Player of Year: 1976-77 (Hamilton)
OMJHL Hanley Trophy (Most Gentlemanly): 1975-76 (Hamilton), 1976-77
(St. Catharines)
World Junior Championships All-Star First Team:
1977
Memorial Cup All-Star First Team: 1976 (Hamilton)
OMJHL All-Star First Team: 1975-76 (Hamilton),
1976-77 (St. Cath.)
OMJHL All-Star Game: 1977 (St. Catharines)
World Junior Championships Team Canada Captain: 1977
Hamilton Captain: 1975-76
St. Catharines
Captain: 1976-77
World Junior Championships Points Leader: 1977
(18 points)
OMJHL Playoffs Goals Leader: 1976 (Hamilton) (20 goals)
Miscellaneous: Rated in The Hockey News draft preview issue as
OMJHL's No. 1 prospect for the 1977 NHL draft. ... Was on Hamilton (OMJHL)
team that relocated to St. Catharines for 1976-77 season. ... Set OMJHL/OHL
records (since broken) for career points (477), career assists (283) and
career playoff points (77). ... Set Hamilton/St. Catharines single-season
records (all since broken) for points (139), goals (60) and assists (84). |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 13, 1977 (Toronto at Detroit)
Numbers: 10 (Detroit); 7 (Buffalo); 12 (Toronto)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status: Retired 1991 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1977-1984 |
Detroit, Buffalo, Toronto | 532 |
194 | 284 | 478 |
124 |
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| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1978-1983 |
Detroit, Buffalo | 21 |
9 | 7 | 16 |
6 |
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NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Detroit Rookie of Year: 1977-78
Detroit Bruce A. Norris Trophy (Points Leader): 1977-78 (72), 1979-80 (81), 1980-81 (86)
Detroit James D. Norris Trophy (Goals Leader): 1977-78 (33)
Detroit
Captain: October 9, 1979, until September 1980
Detroit Assists Leader:
1979-80 (51), 1980-81 (56)
Detroit Playoffs Goals Leader: 1978 (4)
Miscellaneous: Had assist in his first NHL game. ... Played on "Kid Line"
with Paul Woods and Bill Lochead for Detroit in 1977-78. ... Finished second in
1977-78 NHL rookie scoring race. ... Scored goal in his first game for Buffalo
on Dec. 3, 1981, vs. Boston. ... Played on line with Tony McKegney and Alan
Haworth for Buffalo in 1981-82. ... Released by Buffalo in October 1983.
The Dale
McCourt Case: A major legal battle erupted after NHL arbitrator Ed Houston ordered
that Detroit transfer
McCourt's NHL rights to Los Angeles as compensation for the signing of
restricted free agent Rogie Vachon on Aug. 8, 1978. The Red Wings had been
offering Jim Rutherford and Bill Lochead as compensation, but the Kings
demanded McCourt, and the arbitrator sided with Los Angeles, which was
offering McCourt a $3 million contract. Despite the big money, McCourt refused to
go to Los Angeles, and sought legal protection. He got a temporary restraining
order from U.S. District Court Judge Robert DeMascio on Sept. 18, 1978, overturning the arbitrator's decision and
allowing him to remain with the Red Wings. The judge ruled that compensation
requirements on NHL free agency were an illegal restraint of trade because
they limited competition. McCourt's lawyer, Brian Smith, then sued the NHL,
the NHLPA, the Red Wings and Kings in an effort to prevent McCourt from ever
being sent to Los Angeles as part of any compensation package. While the
cases were tied up in the courts, McCourt continued to play for Detroit,
spending the entire 1978-79 season there along with Vachon. In the process,
McCourt angered many fellow players, who thought his actions were undermining
the NHLPA, which had agreed to the compensation requirements in its Collective
Bargaining Agreement. McCourt appeared to have lost his legal battle at the
end of the 1978-79 season, when the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati upheld the arbitrator's original decision, but McCourt immediately
appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. The situation was
resolved, and the need for a Supreme Court ruling avoided, when Los Angeles
traded McCourt's rights back to Detroit for Andre St. Laurent, 1980
first-round pick (Larry Murphy) and the option of having Detroit's 1980
second-round pick or 1981 first-round pick (Los Angeles chose the 1981
first-round pick -- Doug Smith) on Aug. 22, 1979. This was an alternate
compensation package that Los Angeles had been willing to accept in 1978, but
Detroit had rejected. Los Angeles' original request, before the McCourt
request set off a legal battle, had been for Reed Larson, two No. 1 picks and
$700,000 in cash. The McCourt case helped to eventually change the NHL's rules
on compensation but the experience took its toll on McCourt. He later said he
lost his love for being in the NHL as a result of the legal ordeal |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Ambri-Piotta (Switzerland)
Olympics: 1994 (Italy) (ninth place)
(as assistant coach)
World Championships: 1979
(fourth place), 1981 (fourth place)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
WHA Draft Pick: 1977 (by
Indianapolis, No. 35 overall in Round 4)
Coaching Career: Served as assistant coach for Italian national team
for several years after his retirement, while also coaching in Germany. ...
Named Berlin Capitals (Germany) head coach prior to 1998-99 season and
remained in that position until September 1999.
Miscellaneous:
Returned to Canada from Europe in 2000 and began working as a truck driver.
Personal: Nicknamed "Chief." ...
Full name is Dale Allen McCourt. ... Nephew of former NHL player and Hockey
Hall of Famer George Armstrong. ... Younger brother of NHL linesman Dan
McCourt. ... Father of Canadian university player Derek
McCourt. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE: Detroit traded McCourt, Mike Foligno
and Brent Peterson to Buffalo in exchange for Danny Gare, Jim Schoenfeld and
Derek Smith on December 2, 1981. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '77 | | Total Selected: |
185 | | Forwards: |
104 | | Defense: |
57 | | Goaltenders: |
24 | | Major Junior: |
123 | | College Players: |
51 |
| Canadian: |
141 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
2 | | USA Citizens: |
37 | | U.S.-Born: |
36 |
| European: |
5 |
| Reached NHL: |
97 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
8 | | Hall of Fame: |
2 |
| All-Star Game: |
13 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
5 |
| Olympians: |
9 |
| Picks Traded: |
37 |
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