Dale McCourt

Dale McCourt
Date of birth	January 26, 1957
place of birth	Falconbridge, Ontario , Canada
size	178 cm
Weight	82 kg
position	center
Shot hand	Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1977 , 1st lap, 1st position Detroit Red Wings
WHA Amateur Draft	1977 , 4th lap, 35th position Indianapolis Racers
Career stations
1972-1973	Welland Sabers Sudbury Wolves
1973-1974	Hamilton Red Wings
1974-1976	Hamilton Fincups
1976-1977	St. Catharines Fincups
1977-1981	Detroit Red Wings
1981-1983	Buffalo Sabers
1983-1984	Toronto Maple Leafs
1984-1992	HC Ambrì-Piotta

Dale Allen McCourt (born January 26, 1957 in Falconbridge, Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (center) and coach who played for the Detroit Red Wings , Buffalo Sabers and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League from 1977 to 1984 .

Career

At the age of 15 he played in the junior division of the OHA with the Sudbury Wolves . From the following season, the Hamilton Red Wings were his team. When the team started under the new name Hamilton Fincups in 1974, he was the top scorer. He scored well over 100 points two seasons in a row and led his team to win the Memorial Cup in 1976 . Then his team moved again. He was also the superstar again at the St. Catharines Fincups . At the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft , it was no surprise that the Detroit Red Wings used the first draft law to sign him. The World Hockey Association saw little chance of winning this player for the league, and so it was not until the fourth round that the Indianapolis Racers used the 35th draft law in the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft to get the rights to McCourt to secure.

For the 1977/78 season he made his NHL debut. With 33 goals he played a very strong rookie season . He was the best scorer at the Red Wings and helped that the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1970. Disputes ensued as the NHL ruled that he should be handed over to the Los Angeles Kings as compensation for the signing of start keeper Rogatien Vachon . McCourt refused to switch and was able to stick to and fro after a long time. In his first four years in Detroit, only Václav Nedomanský narrowly managed to beat him as the best scorer. During the 1981/82 season , the Red Wings gave their young star to the Buffalo Sabers . Mike Foligno and Brent Peterson went with him and in return, Danny Gare and Jim Schoenfeld , among others, moved to Detroit.

His performance in Buffalo was also decent, but he failed to meet coach Scotty Bowman's expectations. With three goals in a playoff game of the 1982/83 season , he shot his team in the semifinals, but shortly after the beginning of the following season he was dismissed by the Sabers. He quickly found a new team in the Toronto Maple Leafs .

After this season, he moved to Europe and played with the HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League B . The team made the promotion and McCourt stayed with the Swiss in the National League A until the 1991/92 season .

For the 1998/99 season he took over the Berlin Capitals as coach. Before that, he worked for the Italian first division clubs Asiago Hockey and HC Gherdëina . He was the head coach of the DEL team for two years .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	7th	532	194	284	478	124
Playoffs	3	21st	9	7th	16	6th

Sporting successes

• Memorial Cup : 1976
• Silver medal at the Junior World Championship : 1977

Personal awards

• OMJHL First All-Star Team: 1976 and 1977
• Memorial Cup All-Star Team: 1976
• Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy : 1976
• Junior World Championship All-Star Team: 1976 and 1977
• William Hanley Trophy : 1976 and 1977
• Red Tilson Trophy : 1977
• CHL Player of the Year : 1977

Web links

• Dale McCourt at hockeydb.com (English)
• Dale McCourt at legendsofhockey.net (English)