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

[vadim sharifijanov]

wow, good on dave chyzowski for fighting troy crowder. that guy was no joke.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

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...

I was quite young when I used to watch him in Kamloops. On that team guys like Niedermayer and Sydor stood out to me much more. Can't remember if he played with Huber or Len Barrie, but I think his stats were blown up by those 2. He was head of marketing for the Blazers for a really long time, now is an assistant coach with the Giants.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

This is an interesting podcast I found (with less than 100 views). He goes into detail about his career.

Apparently switching from 89 was a xenophobic thing. He didn't want the same number as 'that f***ing Russian" (Mogilny).
He says the trainer gave him number 9 and then when he struggled Islanders fans were terrible to him, including death threats.

Worth a watch over a few days while you wash dishes:

 

[decma]

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.

One of the worst draft classes ever for CHL players.

 

[CHIMO]

This is an interesting podcast I found (with less than 100 views). He goes into detail about his career.

Apparently switching from 89 was a xenophobic thing. He didn't want the same number as 'that f***ing Russian" (Mogilny).
He says the trainer gave him number 9 and then when he struggled Islanders fans were terrible to him, including death threats.

Worth a watch over a few days while you wash dishes:

Gonna scope this for sure. I’ve always been curious about him. Thanks for sharing!

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Gonna scope this for sure. I’ve always been curious about him. Thanks for sharing!

Same boat, I got into hockey in 94 so I remember getting his cards and learning that he was a 'bust', but I never really felt I knew a lot about him.

This thread actually inspired me to do some googling and I was surprised to see a podcast that answered a lot of questions with about as many views as I would probably get.

 

[JJ18Sniper]

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:

View attachment 377009 View attachment 377010 View attachment 377011

Thanks for sharing these article photos, this is awesome!

The biggest surprise is the nugget about Bill Torrey having David Volek reach out to Bobby Holik to see if he defected. He ended up going #10 overall to the Hartford Whalers and played in the NHL the following season, so it worked out well for them to make that gamble. It mentions that Torrey would have considered him at #2 if he was given some assurance and that would have been a very interesting situation heading into the 90's with Holik on the team.

 

[hacksaw7]

This is an interesting podcast I found (with less than 100 views). He goes into detail about his career.

Apparently switching from 89 was a xenophobic thing. He didn't want the same number as 'that f***ing Russian" (Mogilny).
He says the trainer gave him number 9 and then when he struggled Islanders fans were terrible to him, including death threats.

Worth a watch over a few days while you wash dishes:

Well you have to remember from his perspective they were coming here and taking jobs from Canadian players, so you can understand where he was coming from

 

[Big Phil]

I can't remember what Dave Chyzowski looked like. I can't literally remember a thing about him, other than the odd time I look up the drafts in the past and ask "Who was he again after Sundin that year?"

Just looking him up again, I have to wonder why the Isles didn't just let him go back to junior for at least another year instead of having him make the club and then having him toil in the minors right off the bat. He never really stuck in the NHL.

I know the 1989 draft is not famously known for being a good one, but even in the 1st round alone you have Bill Guerin, Olaf Kolzig, Stu Barnes and Bobby Holik. Neither are franchise players, but all were good and at least not someone you'd refuse to have on your team.

 

[wetcoast]

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?

The 89 draft at the top end was extremely weak plain and simple.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

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

that fourth year i can imagine torrey saying, what? we didn’t pick a CH guy this year. how did he still bust?

This is an interesting podcast I found (with less than 100 views). He goes into detail about his career.

Apparently switching from 89 was a xenophobic thing. He didn't want the same number as 'that f***ing Russian" (Mogilny).
He says the trainer gave him number 9 and then when he struggled Islanders fans were terrible to him, including death threats.

Worth a watch over a few days while you wash dishes:

thx for this. kept me company today while i drove around town running errands.

def worth a listen.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I kind of remembered that at one point he was in the Red Wings organization, but wasn't aware that he was at one point a #2OA.

I did some digging on his tenure with Detroit/Adirondack and it sounds like at that point the Wings simply viewed him as a vet for their farm team when he was signed right before training camp. He apparently clicked with fellow '89 draft pick and that seasons (95/96) AHL ASG MVP Wes Walz and first year pro Mike Knuble, before Walz walked out on the team in late January.

 

[IComeInPeace]

If you look at Barrie and Huber in the season AFTER Chyzowski was drafted, Barrie's point totals increased by 98 points and Huber's totals increased by 30 points. It seems like they weren't missing Chyzowski at all (he played only 4 regular-season games in the WHL that season)

But, if you look even further into that D+1 season, in the playoffs Chyzowski put up 17 points in 17 games. By comparison, Len Barrie put up 37 points in those same 17 playoff games. Even Phil Huber put up 23 points in those same 17 playoff games..

Those numbers from that D+1 season are really telling. It seems like he was very much a product of the guys he had playing with him.

Even in the AHL, his numbers were really underwhelming save for his last AHL season where he got to play with another young guy with loads of talent in Wes Walz.

 

[IComeInPeace]

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?

Greatest Hockey Legends.com: Jason Herter

"Some injuries, particularly bad hips, really hampered his early development as a professional. But Herter, in a 2008 interview with the Vancouver Province, was very honest about why he was a first round draft bust.

"I think I was very naive and not smart when I was younger," said Herter. "If I knew what I knew at 25 when I was 18, it would have been different.

"It's hard to explain. I never had to be coached. I was that talented guy, and it was my blessing and my downfall. I just took everything for granted. And when I had to fight for a spot, I didn't know how to react.

"I would have played in the NHL if I wasn't drafted. I would have been pissed. I got complacent. If I was in a position to not get complacent, I would have had a better chance."

"I feel like I have to tell my Dad, 'I had my chance and I missed it.'"

 

[Uncle Rotter]

He's got a new job.
Centennials hire Dave Chyzowski as head coach/GM

 

[Hobnobs]

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...

Same with europeans. Was a lot more common that they were rookies at age 21-23. Forsberg, Selänne, Mironov, Renberg, Petrov, Alfredsson all in this age range. I mean Kenny Jönsson was considered too young when he left at 20.

 

[dj Mahoney]

Redwings had what's probably the top draft of any sports team ever this year.