Derian Hatcher

Summary

Derian John Hatcher (born June 4, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the current owner of the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Derian Hatcher
Hatcher with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007
Born (1972-06-04) June 4, 1972 (age 51)
Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Minnesota North Stars
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Philadelphia Flyers
National team  United States
NHL Draft 8th overall, 1990
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1991–2008

He is the younger brother of former NHL player Kevin Hatcher, with whom he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on October 21, 2010.[1] In 2014, Hatcher and David Legwand, a fellow OHL alumnus, NHL player and Michigan native, purchased and became co-owners of the Sarnia Sting, with Hatcher serving as head coach from 2015 to 2020.[2]

Playing career edit

As a youth, Hatcher played in the 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team.[3]

Hatcher was known as a physical defenseman and a strong bodychecker and used his intimidating size to good effect. He was drafted in the 1st round as the eighth overall selection by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and scored in his NHL debut game on October 12, 1991. Hatcher played for the North Stars and went with them when they moved to Dallas in 1993.[citation needed]

Hatcher played another ten years for the Dallas Stars, collecting 71 goals, 223 assists, 1,380 penalty minutes, and captained the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999. In doing so, he became the first American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup.[4] In July 2003, Hatcher signed with the Detroit Red Wings on a five-year, $30 million contract. A knee injury in just the third game of the season forced Hatcher to miss most of the year, playing in just 15 regular season games with the Red Wings.[citation needed]

In 2004, due to the cancellation of the NHL season, Hatcher, along with fellow Detroit Red Wings teammates Chris Chelios and Kris Draper, decided to play minor league hockey with the Motor City Mechanics based out of Fraser, Michigan.[citation needed]

On August 2, 2005, Hatcher signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after his contract with Detroit was bought out due to the new salary cap.[citation needed]

On January 29, 2006, Hatcher was named interim captain of the Flyers. He served as captain for the rest of the 2005–06 season due to the absence of injured captain Keith Primeau. Hatcher has also served as an alternate captain for the Flyers.[citation needed]

Suffering from a right knee injury, he missed the entire 2008–09 NHL season. Hatcher later returned as a "co-coach" for the playoffs. After having replacement surgery on the same knee on June 1, 2009, Hatcher said that he would most likely not return to playing hockey.[citation needed] On June 15, 2009, Hatcher formally announced his retirement from the NHL, done so with the Dallas Stars. He remained in the Flyers organization as a player development coach, taking a job vacated by another former Flyer defenseman and captain, Éric Desjardins, who resigned to pursue business interests.[5] Hatcher is the second longest-serving captain in the history of the Dallas Stars and their predecessor, the Minnesota North Stars.[citation needed]

Awards edit

[6]

Personal life edit

A native Michigander, Hatcher continues to live in the state today. He and his brother Kevin Hatcher, also a former NHL player, previously owned a bar/restaurant in Utica, Michigan.[citation needed]

In 2015, Hatcher, along with David Legwand, purchased the OHL's Sarnia Sting.[7] Hatcher served as head coach of the team, with Legwand as an assistant coach,[8] from 2015 to 2021.[9]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Detroit G. P. D. Midgets MNHL 25 5 13 18 52
1988–89 Detroit G. P. D. Midgets MNHL 51 19 35 54 100
1989–90 North Bay Centennials OHL 64 14 38 52 45 5 2 3 5 8
1990–91 North Bay Centennials OHL 64 13 50 63 163 10 2 10 12 28
1991–92 Minnesota North Stars NHL 43 7 5 12 88 5 0 2 2 8
1991–92 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 2 1 2 3 21
1992–93 Minnesota North Stars NHL 67 4 15 19 178
1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 83 12 19 31 211 9 0 2 2 14
1994–95 Dallas Stars NHL 43 5 11 16 105
1995–96 Dallas Stars NHL 79 8 23 31 129
1996–97 Dallas Stars NHL 63 3 19 22 97 7 0 2 2 20
1997–98 Dallas Stars NHL 70 6 25 31 132 17 3 3 6 39
1998–99 Dallas Stars NHL 80 9 21 30 102 18 1 6 7 24
1999–2000 Dallas Stars NHL 57 2 22 24 68 23 1 3 4 29
2000–01 Dallas Stars NHL 80 2 21 23 77 10 0 1 1 16
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 80 4 21 25 87
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 82 8 22 30 106 11 1 2 3 33
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 15 0 4 4 8 12 0 1 1 15
2004–05 Motor City Mechanics UHL 24 5 12 17 27
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 4 13 17 93 6 0 2 2 10
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 3 6 9 67
2007–08 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 44 2 5 7 33 15 1 2 3 40
NHL totals 1,045 80 251 331 1,581 133 7 26 33 248

International edit

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 United States WC 6 1 2 3 8
1996 United States WCH 6 3 2 5 10
1998 United States OG 4 0 0 0 0
2002 United States WC 7 0 1 1 0
2006 United States OG 6 0 0 0 12
Senior totals 29 4 5 9 30

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Former Flyer Captain Derian Hatcher inducted to US Hockey Hall of Fame". NHL.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sting Co-Owner Derian Hatcher to Step Down as Head Coach, Remains Committed to Success of the Sting – Sarnia Sting". Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  4. ^ "Flyers' Hatcher retires, joins coaching staff". Yahoo! Sports. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009. He won a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and is the only American-born player to captain a team to a championship.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "National Post".[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Derian Hatcher". www.hhof.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sting Most Recent OHL Team Sold – Chatham-Kent Sports Network". January 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "Hockey Operations – Sarnia Sting". January 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "Sting Co-Owner Derian Hatcher to Step Down as Head Coach, Remains Committed to Success of the Sting". Sarnia Sting. June 1, 2021.

External links edit

  • Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
Preceded by Minnesota North Stars first round draft pick
1990
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dallas Stars captain
19952003
Succeeded by
Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers captain
2006
(while Primeau was injured)
Succeeded by