The Panther
Registered User
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...
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...