On August 18th 2020, Dale Hawerchuk passed away after losing his battle of one year with stomach cancer. He passed away at 57-years-old. Hawerchuk had a highly successful career in hockey, playing in the NHL from 1981-97, as well as being the head coach of the OHL’s Barrie Colts. This he did from 2010-2020.
Hawerchuk was born in Toronto in 1963, and he started playing hockey at a very young age, playing in the QMJHL with the Cornwall Royals. He played there for a pair of seasons after making the jump from the Oshawa Legionnaires. While in the QMJHL, Hawerchuk played 144 games where he recorded a total of 286 points.
During his time with the Royals, Hawerchuk won many accolades, including two Memorial Cups and the Guy Lafleur Trophy. He also won the Stafford Smythe Trophy, the Mike Bossy Trophy and the Jean Beliveau Trophy. He topped this with the Michel Briere trophy. This performance led to Dale Hawerchuk being selected first overall. This was back in 1981 which would see him land with the Winnipeg Jets.
Hawerchuk started playing with the Jets in 1982, the season after he was drafted, and he certainly left an impression in first pro season, netting 103 points. Hawerchuk accomplished this through 80 games played. Due to his large impact in the league, Hawerchuk, for his performance, was named as the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy.
This saw Hawerchuk remain with the Jets where he spent nine seasons, becoming captain after three. Continuing to be a high performing player while playing in Winnipeg, Hawerchuk recorded a total of 929 points during the tenure he spent there.
“I think honestly Dale (Hawerchuk) was my guardian angel the entire way through hockey.”
Mark Scheifele
After his lengthy run in Manitoba, Hawerchuk moved to the Buffalo Sabres, beginning his new chapter in 1990-91. As well, this saw him immediately named as alternate captain. In comparison to his time with the Jets, Hawerchuk had a rather unimpressive term while in Buffalo, amassing 385 points which he accomplished in 342 games.
As a result of this, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues during the ’95-’96 season. There, he only played 66 games, evidently not a good fit with the Missouri based hockey club. This then saw him traded to the Philadelphia Flyers part way through the season.
That’s where he would hang up the skates, playing 67 games while with the organization. Hawerchuk recorded 54 points before officially retiring after the ’96-’97 season.
After his extensive hockey career, Hawerchuk took to coaching, taking over as head coach for the OHL’s Barrie Colts. Hawerchuk was bench boss of the team from 2011-2019. In September of the 2019-20 season, Hawerchuk took a leave of absence from his longtime role after being diagnosed. This ended his final season abruptly before the hockey club’s season got underway in October.
During his time with the Colts, Hawerchuk saw his team fight for the J. Ross Robertson Cup several times. Barrie only missed the qualifying round in the OHL playoffs three times throughout his coaching career. Despite often qualifying for the cup, Hawerchuk’s team only made one finals appearance, and sadly, never won the league championship.
Outside of his hockey career, Hawerchuk was a proud husband and father of three, with his son, Ben Hawerchuk, seeing time with the Colts. He did so before he went overage, and at that point, signed in the ECHL. Back on April 13th, Hawerchuk was reported to have completed his final round of chemotherapy. However, he knew given his diagnosis that he was not likely to make a full recovery.
Hawerchuk had taken his chemotherapy hard, and as a result, had a hard time recovering. He had gone into his second run-in with cancer during July, just as the summer was starting. Given he was already in a weakened state, he was unable to make a recovery from this horrible ailment.
After Hawerchuk passed away, the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers observed a moment of silence before the start of their final playoff game. This included playing a video tribute to his life and career. The condolences of The Puck Authority staff go out to the Hawerchuk family, his former teammates, his friends, his players and his fellow staff members. R.I.P Dale “Ducky” Hawerchuk. 1963-2020.