Dan Woodley

Dan Woodley (born December 29, 1967 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played briefly in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks during the 1987–88 NHL season.

Playing career

Woodley was selected 7th overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Canucks. He helped the Portland Winter Hawks to the 1986 Memorial Cup Finals and was considered a sure-fire NHL winger. He turned pro in 1987–88 and had a solid season, recording 66 points in 69 IHL games and scoring 2 goals in 5 games with the Canucks.

However, after General Manager Jack Gordon was replaced by Pat Quinn, Woodley was sent to Milwaukee to start the 1988–89 season in the IHL, he was traded in a swap of first round picks, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jose Charbonneau. He finished the year in Sherbrooke, Quebec on the first place Canadiens farm team with 18 goals. Following two more mediocre seasons for Montreal, he requested to be bought out in 1991. He then moved to the ECHL and played four more seasons before retiring in 1995.

Woodley's lack of success (5 games played 2 goals)was surprising, given his high place in the 1986 draft. No player who was drafted higher than Woodley in the 1980s played fewer than his 5 NHL games, and he was one of only three top-10 picks (Jason Herter and Dan Gratton being the others) to play fewer than 10 NHL games. In contrast, future Hockey Hall of Fame defender Brian Leetch, who would star against Vancouver in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, was selected just 2 picks later than Woodley by the New York Rangers.

Woodley currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his family. He coaches the Regis Jesuit High School varsity team. In his third year with the team, the 2007–2008 Regis Jesuit HS team posted an overall record of 20-1-1 and captured the state High School championship with a dramatic double-overtime 3–2 victory. The Regis team went undefeated in 2008-2009 to win their second consecutive State Championship. In 2012 Woodley's team captured their third State title under his guidance going 22-1. This fall he will be in his eighth year with the team compiling a win loss record of 130-21-2 and winning three State Championships. Woodley has coached Regis Jesuit hockey to the State final-four, five consecutive years and has built Regis Jesuit into a hockey powerhouse in the state. Woodley also coaches a youth hockey team in Colorado.

Woodley is the son of Dave Woodley, who was playing for the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League when Dan was born. Dan Woodley has the distinction of being the only Oklahoma native ever selected in the first round of the NHL draft. He spent his early childhood in places such as Oklahoma, Arizona and Oregon (while his father was playing minor league pro hockey) as well as in Victoria, British Columbia, where he learned to play junior hockey.^[1]

Awards

• 1987-88: Ken McKenzie Trophy

Career statistics

                                            --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983-84  Portland Winter Hawks       WHL     6    1    2    3    2   8   1   3   4   4
1983-84  Summerland Buckaroos        BCJHL  54   17   34   51   31  --  --  --  --  --
1984-85  Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    63   21   36   57  108   1   0   0   0   0
1985-86  Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    62   45   47   92  100  12   0   8   8  31
1986-87  Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    47   30   50   80   81  19  19  17  36  52
1987-88  Vancouver Canucks           NHL     5    2    0    2   17  --  --  --  --  --
1987-88  Flint Spirits               IHL    69   29   37   66  104   9   1   3   4  26
1988-89  Sherbrooke Canadiens        AHL    30    9   16   25   69   4   1   6   7   5
1988-89  Milwaukee Admirals          IHL    30    9   12   21   48  --  --  --  --  --
1989-90  Sherbrooke Canadiens        AHL    65   18   40   58  144  10   1   6   7  58
1990-91  Fredericton Canadiens       AHL     4    0    0    0    4  --  --  --  --  --
1990-91  Kansas City Blades          IHL    20    6    4   10   30  --  --  --  --  --
1990-91  Albany Choppers             IHL    31    8   17   25   36  --  --  --  --  --
1991-92  Winston-Salem Thunderbird   ECHL   57   24   42   66  102   5   3   3   6   2
1992-93  Flint Bulldogs              CoHL   39   20   36   56  112   6   4   7  11  21
1993-94  Muskegon Fury               CoHL   58   43   58  101  217   1   0   0   0   0
1994-95  Muskegon Fury               CoHL   43   25   26   51   87  --  --  --  --  --
1994-95  Saginaw Wheels              CoHL   11   11    4   15   18   2   1   1   2  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         NHL Totals                          5    2    0    2   17  --  --  --  --  --

References

• Dan Woodley's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database