Dino Ciccarelli

[Jim MacDonald]

Hey guys and gals!

Wanted to get everyone's thoughts/opinions on Dino Ciccarelli, if you liked his game, disliked his game, liked how he wouldn't be afraid to get in the "high traffic" areas....just moreso your opinions on what you liked/disliked about his game. If there are some fans who seen him in his Minnesota and Washington years as well maybe there were some other parts of his game he brought to the table I didn't see during his years wearing the Winged Wheel. Look forward to the thoughts/feedback as always!-Jim

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[Boxscore]

I loved Dino. Small player with major tude and the willingness to take a beating to score the dirty goals. Good shot, excellent release in close. He was as grimy as you get - sometimes crossed the line, but overall an impact player who I would take on my team any day.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Good shot, excellent release in close. .

See this is educational to me...knowing his release was really good....not just tipping in stuff and getting "garbage/rebound" type goals...very interesting!

 

[Boxscore]

See this is educational to me...knowing his release was really good....not just tipping in stuff and getting "garbage/rebound" type goals...very interesting!

I thought Dino had a great release. He didn't keep the puck on his stick long, and he shot darts. He didn't have the velocity of a Matthews or the violent shot of MacKinnon, but it was on and off his blade quick.

 

[The Panther]

I loved Dino. Small player with major tude and the willingness to take a beating to score the dirty goals. Good shot, excellent release in close. He was as grimy as you get - sometimes crossed the line, but overall an impact player who I would take on my team any day.

I agree with this.

My vague memory from the latter-80s is that he was more adept in those days at scoring on slappers from some distance, whereas by the early/mid-90s he was more the garbage-goals-only kind of guy... though he was very good at it!

Random note about Ciccarelli is that his 1986-87 season was really good. His 103 points was only 4 points off second-best in the NHL, and he led the North Stars in scoring by 40. He was also +11 (with a positive 65 goal differential!) on a team that was 10 games below .500. In fact, these were the NHL scoring leaders as of January 1st, 1987:
1. Gretzky (38GP): 39G + 55A = 94PTS
2. Ciccarelli (36GP): 31G + 26A = 57PTS
3. Messier (38GP): 16G + 41A = 57PTS
4. Lemieux (32GP): 27G + 28A = 55PTS

Not bad company...

 

[22Brad Park]

Scoring machine and always in front of net taking a beating.Fact the Hall avoided him so long was a crime

 

[Boxscore]

Scoring machine and always in front of net taking a beating.Fact the Hall avoided him so long was a crime

Dino was a villain. He was semi Dale Hunter-ish with more skill and goal scoring ability. I've noticed the Hall kisses those they like personally (Neely) while punish those who wore black hats (Dino).

I'm still waiting for Hunter to make it in. His hit on Turgeon alone should have bumped him to 1st ballot.

 

[Albatros]

Random note about Ciccarelli is that his 1986-87 season was really good. His 103 points was only 4 points off second-best in the NHL, and he led the North Stars in scoring by 40. He was also +11 (with a positive 65 goal differential!) on a team that was 10 games below .500.

Another note would be that his 1996-97 season was also really good, scoring 35 goals in 77 games as a 37-year-old in the dead-puck era, playing for a really poor Tampa Bay team. All in all 19 years in the league as a great scorer to the very end.

 

[VanIslander]

Dino scored 1200 points in 1232 games but he deserves another few hundred points for all the screens and goalie diversions he was responsible for. He took a lot of abuse to maintain his ground by the crease. The NHL used to not be quick at giving out penalties for crosschecking (Dino would take four in a row - crosschecked, knocked down, got up, crosschecked, knocked down, got up, crosschecked, knocked down, got up, crosschecked, knocked down, got up, before a ref would bother to call it!!)

And you could make a several minute long video of all those tip-in goals he re-directed with such great eye-hand coordination. In fact, only Brind'amour as a winger rivaled Dino in his ability to see the shot coming and purposely tip it in.

Those are goals of grit and skill.



And I am not at all talking about the rebounds, perhaps the only true 'garbage' goals, and he scooped them into the net fast as well.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

It's kind cool to read...and it truly is a skill....to have the hand/eye for redirects and tip-ins.....it's cool too the HoH peeps have love for Dino! I don't know why but I had a feeling people wouldn't think he had a good skill set/toolbox for some reason? Heck I watched the Wings so I seen some of it but just didn't know what the hockey world would think!

 

[overg]

It's kind cool to read...and it truly is a skill....to have the hand/eye for redirects and tip-ins.....it's cool too the HoH peeps have love for Dino! I don't know why but I had a feeling people wouldn't think he had a good skill set/toolbox for some reason? Heck I watched the Wings so I seen some of it but just didn't know what the hockey world would think!

Dino's hand-eye coordination was amazing, but so was his ability to know exactly where his skates were in relation to the crease. Dino was absolutely great at tracking the puck back and forth while staying just outside the crease. A *lot* of the goalie interference calls against him were the result of the goalie coming outside the crease, not Ciccarelli going in.

 

[VanIslander]

Marleau has a similar eye-hand coordination he uses to efficiently scoop up loose pucks around the net: rebounds and tap passes and shot passes he converts most often.

(Only, Marleau doesn't turn around and watch the play to get tip-ins. Nor does he try to screen much. He is more of a side of net presence.)

 

[a79krgm]

First time I saw him play he skated against the 1980 Olympic team in a pre-season contest. He was sent back to London that year. When he came back in '81 I'll never forget how much excitement he brought to the Met Center. It was like out of nowhere the fans suddenly had a superstar.

 

[The Panther]

One of numerous London Knights who did well in the NHL. I have this picture of Ciccarelli in the late-70s' OMJHL, being a total bad-ass (akin to Fleury in the WHL years later), high-sticking and chirping his way to success against much bigger players. He was a small guy in that "Slapshot" era of Ontario Minor Hockey. Could be rough.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Major injury, undrafted, Hall of Fame. Hated him as I was a Hawk fan but always admired his game.

North Star Shines Despite Ordeals : High-Scoring Dino Ciccarelli Has Come Back to Beat Injury, Adversity

 

[VanIslander]

I swear Dino's second career is in mascoting...

 

[c9777666]

I always wonder why DET traded him before 1996-97.

Trading Coffey/Primeau for Shanahan made sense, but it's not like they got a player in return here. Dino went to Tampa for a 4th round pick in the '98 draft, so it's not like they got someone in return that contributed to the 1997 Cup.

Heck, he could have basically filled the Tomas Sandstrom role when he eventually found his way to Detroit even though he wasn't a big contributor to 1997

It's not like Dino would have been out of place with Shanahan and they already had 2/3 of the Grind Line when he was there (Maltby/McCarty)

 

[Tarantula]

Dino as a London Knight. Could only go to a small number of games as a kid but did see the game where he set the Knights record for goals in a season, beating D Maruk.

 

[The Panther]

View attachment 194005

Dino as a London Knight. Could only go to a small number of games as a kid but did see the game where he set the Knights record for goals in a season, beating D Maruk.

Wow, great post! Nice find.

There was a lot of green on the ice that night...

 

[Voight]

Overshadowed due to the era he played in, solid player but if the HHOF had to "let some guys go" he'd be in the top half of that list IMO. Of course it'd be after guys like Duff, Andreychuk and Housley.

 

[Big Phil]

Hey guys and gals!

Wanted to get everyone's thoughts/opinions on Dino Ciccarelli, if you liked his game, disliked his game, liked how he wouldn't be afraid to get in the "high traffic" areas....just moreso your opinions on what you liked/disliked about his game. If there are some fans who seen him in his Minnesota and Washington years as well maybe there were some other parts of his game he brought to the table I didn't see during his years wearing the Winged Wheel. Look forward to the thoughts/feedback as always!-Jim

I liked Dino a lot. He was intense and took a huge beating over the years standing in front of the net. Not a big guy either, but played big. He seemed to get away with a lot more than you would think and I think some of that stemmed from how he was such a hothead with a temper. Maybe it was the Italian in him

A little surprised this guy never played in either one of the 1984 or 1987 Canada Cup. I guess we were pretty deep at right wing but he would have fit in anywhere on some sort of energy/forechecking line or even on a top line with the Gretzky-like types getting more room while Dino does the dirty work. Especially 1987. He had a great year that year but got cut from training camp. Hard to believe Keenan didn't like him enough to keep him.

He was the classic garbage goal guy. Rebounds, deflections and as I said earlier doing the dirty work that doesn't get shown on the scoresheet. But he had quick hands too. You don't score 608 NHL goals with hands of stone. He also retired at the right time. He scored 35 goals in 1997. Then had a subpar 1998 season and then in 1999 played just 14 games. He didn't hang around to pad his stats, he scored 600 goals the right way.

Lastly, he scored 73 playoff goals. No kidding. Dino didn't win a Cup, but it is hard to find a playoff year where he was poor. He had that big one in 1981 when they marched to the final and didn't reach that again but would regularly do his part in the playoffs. Only 1986 (1 assist in 5 games) and at the end of his career in 1996 (8 points in 17 games) does he stand out as not doing as much.

Was once traded along with Bob Rouse for Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy. Not the smartest trade Washington ever did, but it does show you his return value. Plus, Detroit traded him for literally nothing after 1996. They never used their draft pick they got for him. I think the Wings still win those two Cups if he's there. Perhaps they don't trade for Shanahan then, but if they still did then Dino does not hurt their chances in keeping him.

 

[fish7]

He always killed the Blues. He was one of the most hated players in St. Louis. People used to hang Dino stuffed animals from the upper decks at the Arena. I only saw him get what he deserved twice. In 84 or 85, after he high sticked and cut a couple of Blues on the same shift, Terry Johnson tried to fight him but Dino turtled so Johnson grabbed him by the neck and back of his pants and slammed him into the boards a few times. In the 96 playoffs, Murray "two minutes for holding" gave him one of the most vicious body slashes I have ever seen before he jumped him and pounded on him.
That said, as much as I hated him, I totally respected him and would have loved him if he was a Blue

 

[Tarantula]

First time I saw him play he skated against the 1980 Olympic team in a pre-season contest. He was sent back to London that year. When he came back in '81 I'll never forget how much excitement he brought to the Met Center. It was like out of nowhere the fans suddenly had a superstar.

I remember the rise of the Stars back then after Dino came up. Used to listen to Pete James calling the Knights games and Dino having the big year where he scored over 70. I went to 4 games as a kid so it was a big deal to see him break that team record at the old London Gardens. He broke his leg early the next season, a nasty one where I believe he slid into the boards. He needed pins and traction IIRC, it certainly wasn't a normal break with a set and cast. I think this was a big reason he wasn't drafted, sure Minny got him as a free agent.