| 1985 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Derek King
Selected in first round
No.
13 overall by New York Islanders
Born
February 11, 1967
 | Position:
Left Wing
Height: 6-0 Weight: 210
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|
| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
Birthplace:
Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1982-83 |
Hamilton | OPJHL |
8 | 1 |
2 | 3 |
0 | | 1983-84 |
Hamilton | OPJHL |
37 | 10 |
14 | 24 |
142 | | 1984-85 |
Sault Ste. Marie | OHL |
63 | 35 |
38 | 73 |
106 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
OHL Emms Family Award (Rookie of Year): 1984-85 (SSM)
Miscellaneous: Ranked by NHL Central Scouting Bureau as No. 10 overall
prospect for the 1985 NHL draft. ... Was Sault Ste. Marie's second-round
pick, No. 25 overall, in 1984 OHL priority selection. ... Also played
defense prior to entering major junior hockey. ... Wore No. 7 for Sault Ste.
Marie. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: March 16, 1987 (N.Y. Islanders at
Montreal)
Numbers: 36, 27 (N.Y. Islanders); 27 (Hart.); 7
(Toronto); 12 (STL)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 2004 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1987-2000 |
NYI, HAR, TOR, STL | 830 |
261 | 351 |
612 | 417 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1988-1999 |
N.Y. Islanders, Toronto |
47 | 4 | 17 |
21 | 24 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
N.Y. Islanders Emery Edge Award (+/- Leader): 1988-89 (plus-10)
N.Y. Islanders Records: Fastest three goals by one player (1:18 in
first period vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 15, 1991)
N.Y. Islanders Goals Leader: 1991-92 (40)
N.Y. Islanders
Playoffs Points Leader: 1994 (1, tie)
N.Y. Islanders Playoffs
Assists Leader: 1993 (11), 1994 (1, tie)
Miscellaneous: Missed part of N.Y. Islanders 1985 training camp with
sprained right knee, an injury suffered during the camp in September 1985.
... Missed part of 1987-88 season with hairline fracture of left wrist, an
injury suffered during N.Y. Islanders' Dec. 11, 1987, game at Pittsburgh. He
did not return to action until N.Y. Islanders assigned him to Springfield (AHL)
on Dec. 31, 1987. ... Had seven-game assist streak during 1987-88 season,
tying Joe Nieuwendyk for the season's longest point streak by a rookie. ...
Missed part of 1988-89 season with bruised left hip, an injury suffered
during N.Y. Islanders' Oct. 27, 1988, game at Philadelphia. He did not
return to action until N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 4, 1988, game at Washington. ...
Missed part of 1988-89 season with separated left shoulder, suffered in
collision with Lou Franceschetti during N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 23, 1988, game
at Washington. He did not return to action until N.Y. Islanders' Dec. 26,
1988, game at Toronto. ... Missed part of 1990-91 season with mild
concussion, an injury suffered during N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 2, 1990, game at
N.Y. Rangers. He did not return to action until N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 15,
1990, game at Calgary. ... Scored four goals in N.Y. Islanders' Dec. 31,
1990, game vs. Quebec. ... Played on line with Brent Sutter and Pat Flatley
for N.Y. Islanders in 1990-91. ... Missed part of 1990-91 season with
separated right shoulder, an injury suffered during N.Y. Islanders' Feb. 14,
1991, game at Pittsburgh. He did not return to action until N.Y. Islanders'
Feb. 21, 1991, game at St. Louis. ... Played on line with Pierre Turgeon and David Volek for N.Y. Islanders for second half of 1991-92 season.
... Finished fifth in NHL and led N.Y. Islanders with 21 power-play goals in
1991-92. ... Missed part of 1992-93 season with bruised hip, an injury
suffered during N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 27, 1992, game at Philadelphia. He did
not return to action until N.Y. Islanders' Dec. 4, 1992, game at Buffalo.
... Missed part of 1992-93 season with hip pointer injury, suffered during
N.Y. Islanders' Dec. 26, 1992, game vs. N.Y. Rangers. He did not return to
action until N.Y. Islanders' Jan. 8, 1993, game at Buffalo. ... Missed part
of 1992-93 season with broken finger on left hand, suffered during
N.Y. Islanders' April 3, 1993, game vs. Montreal. ... Missed first three
games of 1993-94 season attending his mother's funeral in Hamilton, Ontario.
... Played on line with Pierre Turgeon and Steve Thomas for N.Y. Islanders
in 1993-94. ... Missed part of 1993-94 season with strained hip flexor, an
injury suffered in N.Y. Islanders' Jan. 7, 1994, game vs. Calgary. He
did not return to action until N.Y. Islanders' Jan. 14, 1994, game vs.
Montreal. ... Led N.Y. Islanders with seven game-winning goals in 1993-94.
... Played on line with Ray Ferraro and Pat Flatley for N.Y. Islanders in
1995. ... Missed part of 1995 season with bruised left knee, an injury suffered during N.Y.
Islanders' March 9, 1995, game at Pittsburgh. ... Missed remainder of 1995 season
with bursitis in left elbow, an injury suffered during N.Y. Islanders' April 28, 1995, game
at N.Y. Rangers. Led N.Y. Islanders with 11 power-play points in 1995. ...
Missed part of 1995-96 season with bruised foot, an injury suffered during
N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 24, 1995, game at Buffalo. ... Played on line with Pat
Flatley and Marty McInnis for N.Y. Islanders in 1995-96. ... Missed
remainder of 1995-96 season with broken jaw and mild concussion, injuries
suffered when he was hit by Dallas Drake during N.Y. Islanders' March 3,
1996, game vs. Winnipeg. ... Traded by N.Y. Islanders to Hartford at NHL
trade deadline on March 18, 1997, because he was due to become an
unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. ... Signed three-year, $4.2 million
contract with Toronto as a Group V unrestricted free agent on July 3,
1997. The contract included an option for a fourth year at $1.6 million. ...
Missed part of 1997-98 season with sprained left ankle, an injury suffered
in Toronto's Oct. 4, 1997, game at N.Y. Islanders. He did not return to
action until Toronto's Oct. 18, 1997, game vs. Dallas. ... Played on line
with Mike Johnson and Alyn McCauley for Toronto in 1998-99. ... Scored final
Toronto goal in the old Maple Leaf Gardens arena during
Toronto's Feb. 13, 1999, game vs. Chicago. ... Signed with Ottawa as a Group
III unrestricted free agent on Aug. 10, 2000, but never played for parent
team. ... Signed with Detroit as a Group III unrestricted free agent on July
24, 2002, but never played for parent team. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Sault Ste. Marie, Oshawa (OHL); Springfield (AHL); Grand Rapids (IHL/AHL);
Munich (Germany)
World Championships: 1992
(eighth place)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
IHL Lamoureux Trophy (Points Leader):
2000-01 (Grand Rapids) (83 points) (co-winner)
IHL All-Star Second
Team: 2000-01 (Grand Rapids)
OHL All-Star First Team: 1986-87 (Oshawa)
1989-90: Played 21 regular-season games for Springfield team that
went on to win AHL playoff title, but was not with team in postseason.
2000-01: Played on IHL regular-season champion (Grand Rapids).
Coaching Career: Named Grand Rapids (AHL) player-assistant coach
prior to 2002-03 season and remained in that position through 2003-04
season.
Miscellaneous: Named IHL Player of Month for the month of
April 2001. ... Played on line with
Derek Plante and Peter Douris for Munich 2001-02. ... Was active in
charitable causes during his playing days, including work with Big Brothers
program. ... Named to Hamilton's "Heroes of Hometown" all-time team as one
of the seven greatest players from Hamilton, Ontario, by a vote of local
fans in March 2004.
Leaving Sault Ste. Marie: Less than
a year after winning OHL Rookie of the Year honors with Sault Ste. Marie,
King and the Hounds had a major falling out that led to his being traded.
Greyhounds coach Don MacAdam felt King, playing at 216 pounds, was too heavy
and needed to lose weight. He also complained that King was
routinely missing curfew. Just 25 games into the 1985-86 season, after he
had been been benched on several occasions, King decided he no longer wanted to
be part of the team and demanded a trade. In early December, he returned
home to Hamilton to wait for a deal. Although he briefly returned to the
team, he was sent home again with specific instructions to lose six pounds.
He spent the holidays at home and actually gained weight before attempting
to return to the Greyhounds. When he returned, he was sent home again. This
time he insisted he would never play another game for Sault. Ste. Marie. For
his part, MacAdam said the benchings were not personal and he was willing to
have King rejoin the team under the right conditions. He also said that one
of the reasons King was sent home after the holidays was because he had
picked a fight with teammate Ed Smith. King said that wasn't true and that
the entire morale on the Greyhounds was suffering under MacAdam. The
situation finally came to an end a few weeks later when Sault Ste. Marie
traded King to Oshawa in exchange for Mark Haarman and Hal Turner in
February 1986. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
N.Y. Islanders traded King to Hartford in exchange for 1997 fifth-round pick
(Adam Edinger) on March 18, 1997. |
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