Dave Chyzowski (#2 in 1989 draft) -- Anyone remember this guy?

The Panther

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By a circuitous route, just now I came across the career info of Edmonton native, Dave Chyzowski, who was drafted #2 in 1989 (behind only Mats Sundin). It seems that Chyzowski could have been the 1st overall pick any year prior, but there were the rumblings of European talent being drafted in higher numbers that summer, and Sundin was #1 (Fedorov and Lidstrom also drafted the same year).

Anyway, the Islanders took him. His NHL career is remarkably underwhelming. 15 goals in 126 games -- over six seasons!

He was barely 18 in his rookie year, which, I think, is generally too young for most players to enter the NHL. Actually, just looking at the game logs (and considering the Isles sucked back then), it looks to me like his rookie year showed some promise. Just 14 points in 34 games, but he had a few good stretches. (He seemed to be getting power-play time, early in the season.) He played a few games in the AHL that season, and also played for Team Canada at the World Juniors, at which he seemingly excelled, with 13 points in 7 games!

So, all things considered, I'd imagine the Isles were still optimistic about his potential heading into the 2nd year, 1990-91. He scored in the first game of the season... and then scored only 4 more times in 55 further games.

After that, he barely played in the NHL again (36 more games in the next six years). Detroit signed him... didn't play him. Chicago signed him, and game him 8 games. His career then follows the typical path of the "draft bust", where he goes from part-time NHL duty, to full-time AHL, to full-time IHL, to Europe.

I have almost no memory of him whatsoever, but I'm curious what was the problem with his adaptation to the NHL. (He's listed as 6'1'', 200 lbs, so size doesn't seem to have been an issue.) I must say, just looking at the stats in his history, though, I do see warning signs. The Isles drafted him fresh off his break-out season with the Kamloops Blazers (head coach, Ken Hitchcock)... but he wasn't even the leading scorer on that team, as 19-year-old Phil Huber was. It's odd, because the Isles also drafted Huber that same summer of 1989, at #149 (he never played a single shift in the NHL).

Something's weird when the same NHL club drafts the team's leading scorer at #149, and the 2nd leading scorer at #2. Obviously, the Isles' scouts saw something in Chyzowski they liked, but I wonder if other teams were as high on him...? Maybe just a weird pick?

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone remembers him or anything about him. The Isles seem to have given up on him by the time he turned 20, which is rare for a guy drafted 2nd overall. Makes me wonder if there were some personality issues, or otherwise, with him...
 

The Pale King

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I'm guessing he Isles were simply enticed by his wicked slap-shot, and wanted to replace Bossy. I read an article a ways back about Arbour constantly comparing him to Bossy and that kind of pressure can spoil a guy, especially if the franchise is on the downswing.

The more I post on these boards the more I realize one-dimensional shoot first guys coming out of the WHL is a big red flag on the potential bust list. See Falloon, Pat and Brendl, Pavel for other examples.
 

The Panther

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I'm guessing he Isles were simply enticed by his wicked slap-shot, and wanted to replace Bossy. I read an article a ways back about Arbour constantly comparing him to Bossy and that kind of pressure can spoil a guy, especially if the franchise is on the downswing.

The more I post on these boards the more I realize one-dimensional shoot first guys coming out of the WHL is a big red flag on the potential bust list. See Falloon, Pat and Brendl, Pavel for other examples.
Yeah, I think you're right. I also think the Isles must have way over-rated his potential. His numbers in the WHL are very modest (like, not even at All Star level) the season before his big break-out, which is odd for a guy drafted #2 overall. Basically, he had one great season (at any level) in his entire career.

Interesting about Arbour and the new-Bossy angle. I note that Arbour coached Chyzowski the first couple of seasons, and then when Arbour came back to coach them in 1992-93, Chyzowski languished in the minors and didn't get a single game the entire season. Obviously, Arbour had seen enough of him.
 

Franck

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Yeah, I think you're right. I also think the Isles must have way over-rated his potential. His numbers in the WHL are very modest (like, not even at All Star level) the season before his big break-out, which is odd for a guy drafted #2 overall. Basically, he had one great season (at any level) in his entire career.
That's not that unusual, NHL scouts love players who have a dramatic jump in production for their draft year, scouts frame it as "progression" and treat it as a sign that a player is still improving and will keep progressing.
 
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Habsfan18

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It’s the best I could do with my phone, so you’ll likely have to zoom in to read, but here are a few pics from the pages of THN:

EAADF97D-4623-4D4E-B4E5-FD7E734923B9.jpeg
BB409E09-3B7F-4A55-B864-269ECE03C59E.jpeg
DE67AC1C-ABE8-4C68-9ACF-3951D6CC1DE2.jpeg
 

The Panther

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The Islanders seemed to have a few weird first round picks around that time.

1987 - Dean Chynoweth - 241 career games
1988 - Kevin Cheveldayoff - 0 career games
1989 - Dave Chyzowski - 126 career games
1990 - Scott Scissons - 2 career games
It seems they were into drafting guys with 'Ch-' names that were difficult to pronounce...
 

The Panther

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Thanks a lot, @Habsfan18 ! That's awesome info and a good example of this forum at its best.

So, yeah, from this it's clear that it wasn't only the Islanders that had pegged him as a top pick, as he was considered a consensus top-3. And it's also clear that his big shot was his hallmark.

I can definitely see that being a time/speed issue, as the second article suggests. Guys like Bossy and Brett Hull seemed to have that super-fast snipe that needed little space and no time to unleash, and they were thus able to step right into the NHL and let 'em rip. But if you're the kind of player who can't shift gears up a notch speed-wise (see also: Nail Yakupov) and your offensive skill-set is a bit one-note, you may be in trouble.

(Geez, in his photo, above, he looks older than 17! An "early developer"...)
 
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MadArcand

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Looking at that scouting ranking, I literally never heard of Jason Herter before. Ranked 3rd, drafted 8th by Canucks, only ever got into one NHL game - but scored a point! What's the story here?
 

JackSlater

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I recall that Chyzowski was Canada's key skater as an 18 year old when winning the WJC in 1990, but he was sort of a poor man's Heatley. Good size and willing to use it from time to time but mainly just waiting around to rip a shot on net. I buy the scouting report that he probably relied on his shot and didn't develop the other parts of his game adequately, particularly if he was an early developer physically.
 

MS

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One thing worth noting about Chyzowski is that he really put it together to become a dominant minor-pro goalscorer in the late 1990s ... but was born a little too late to get a shot with the expansion Panthers/Ducks and born a little too early to get a shot with the next round of expansion circa 2000.
 
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MS

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Looking at that scouting ranking, I literally never heard of Jason Herter before. Ranked 3rd, drafted 8th by Canucks, only ever got into one NHL game - but scored a point! What's the story here?

He was a draft bust, obviously, but probably a bit of an unlucky one.

In the 1990s you either had to be a guy who played the PP and scored 40-50 points or a big, tough 200 PIM type guy to play defense in the NHL and there wasn't a lot of middle ground.

If you were a guy like Herter who was kind of a skill puck mover but didn't project to play PP minutes and were considered a low-PIM 'soft' player ... you were in tough. A lot of players who today would be solid #4-5 types ended up being buried in the minors because teams all filled their bluelines out with no-talent thugs.

Like, Herter was unquestionably a better player than guys like Jason Strudwick and Dean Malkoc and Jamie Huscroft who I had to suffer through watching as a Canuck fan, but it just wasn't how the league worked then. Top-pairing minor-pro guys couldn't get a look in while guys who were bottom-pairing AHLers on merit got NHL jobs because they could fight and 'clear the crease'.
 
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MarkusNaslund19

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He was a draft bust, obviously, but probably a bit of an unlucky one.

In the 1990s you either had to be a guy who played the PP and scored 40-50 points or a big, tough 200 PIM type guy to play defense in the NHL and there wasn't a lot of middle ground.

If you were a guy like Herter who was kind of a skill puck mover but didn't project to play PP minutes and were considered a low-PIM 'soft' player ... you were in tough. A lot of players who today would be solid #4-5 types ended up being buried in the minors because teams all filled their bluelines out with no-talent thugs.

Like, Herter was unquestionably a better player than guys like Jason Strudwick and Dean Malkoc and Jamie Huscroft who I had to suffer through watching as a Canuck fan, but it just wasn't how the league worked then. Top-pairing minor-pro guys couldn't get a look in while guys who were bottom-pairing AHLers on merit got NHL jobs because they could fight and 'clear the crease'.
I believe with Herter it was chronic injuries that did him in.
 

frisco

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I remember having Chyzowski, Wes Walz, Darrin Shannon and Corey Foster on my keeper Strat-o-Matic team and thinking how I was going to dominate the next dozen years.

Chyzowksi was a pretty one dimensional guy with just a big shot. His skating and defensive awareness weren't great. Expect a lot out of 18 year-olds and stuff when really they're not ready at that age. Chyzowski at 24-25 years of age was probably a good NHL player as evidenced by his minor league numbers but had already run out of chances and had the bust label. The Islanders didn't really know how to develop him properly.

Meanwhile, a guy like Joe Juneau is allowed to ripen on the vine playing a full collegiate career plus a few years on the national team. Then he comes in and scores a 100 points as a "rookie" at an age where Chyzowski is considered long washed up.

My Best-Carey
 

The Panther

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I remember having Chyzowski, Wes Walz, Darrin Shannon and Corey Foster on my keeper Strat-o-Matic team and thinking how I was going to dominate the next dozen years.

Chyzowksi was a pretty one dimensional guy with just a big shot. His skating and defensive awareness weren't great. Expect a lot out of 18 year-olds and stuff when really they're not ready at that age. Chyzowski at 24-25 years of age was probably a good NHL player as evidenced by his minor league numbers but had already run out of chances and had the bust label. The Islanders didn't really know how to develop him properly.

Meanwhile, a guy like Joe Juneau is allowed to ripen on the vine playing a full collegiate career plus a few years on the national team. Then he comes in and scores a 100 points as a "rookie" at an age where Chyzowski is considered long washed up.

My Best-Carey
You make good points. We tend to think that an elite talent like Crosby or whomever should be able to enter the NHL at age 18 and play, and we tend to expect him to do so, which is unrealistic. There is no reason why the top 3 draft-choices are any more mature or able to adapt to the NHL better than the fourth-round picks.

Joe Sakic was a case of a player who declined to join the NHL at 18, and elected to spend another year in the WHL. Worked out for him...
 

FerrisRox

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I remember after he was drafted, in pre-season, he wore #89 (his draft year) and then when he made the team, the Islanders assigned him #9 and this was done with Clark Gilles blessing as if one Islander great was passing the number on to another.
 
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CupHolders

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The Islanders seemed to have a few weird first round picks around that time.

1987 - Dean Chynoweth - 241 career games
1988 - Kevin Cheveldayoff - 0 career games
1989 - Dave Chyzowski - 126 career games
1990 - Scott Scissons - 2 career games

All WHL players... where the Islanders seemed to draft from exclusively once Islanders head of drafting (Devellano) left for Detroit.

Devellano leaving coincides with the Isles dynasty starting to wane and the Wings start to rise. Think Federov, Lidstrom etc.

When the Isles finally stopped going into the WHL they actually had a good draft of Kasparitis and Palffy.

Also wanted to add:

Chyzowski wasn’t seen as a Bossy replacement, but a Gilles replacement. Equally difficult shoes to fill.

He was a consensus top two pick, so they didn’t go off the board.

His slap shot was excellent. Probably covered for other weaknesses at the lower levels. Scored on a penalty shot against Grant Fuhr with his slap shot.

Isles won their last game of the season against the Rangers to bump themselves out of the top pick of Sundin. Similar happened when the Isles missed out on Jagr for Scissions. But considering their pro WHL stance, they may have sadly passed on both anyway.
 

vikash1987

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It seems that Chyzowski was rushed into the NHL too quickly, and that Al Arbour and company were unable to effectively manage expectations for him.

Outside of Sundin, that '89 draft class was relatively weak, all things considered---though there were some European gems in later rounds: Bure, Fedorov, Lidstrom, et al.
 

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