Why was Doug Wickenheiser so highly touted in 1980?

[Al Bundy*]

Most of us know that the Habs selection of Doug Wickenheiser over Denis Savard is viewed as one of the most catastrophic blunders in NHL history.

But, why was he so highly touted to the point of being drafted so high that year?

I know he was not the Canadian Major Junior Player Of The Year (try and guess who that was, BTW), so why was he supposed to be such a good player?

Also:

1. Was he looked at by Habs fan in a negative light because of his poor production?

2. How did Montreal get the #1 pick in that draft in the first place?

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[dcinroc]

Most of us know that the Habs selection of Doug Wickenheiser over Denis Savard is viewed as one of the most catastrophic blunders in NHL history.

But, why was he so highly touted to the point of being drafted so high that year?

I know he was not the Canadian Major Junior Player Of The Year (try and guess who that was, BTW), so why was he supposed to be such a good player?

Also:

1. Was he looked at by Habs fan in a negative light because of his poor production?

2. How did Montreal get the #1 pick in that draft in the first place?

Well, Wickenheiser had 170 points in 71 games in his final year of junior. He was CHL Player of the Year in 1980. He had good size and skill. Savard had 11 more points, but played in QMJHL, which has a reputation for turning out highly skilled, but defensively poor players (same bias caused Bossy to be picked 17th overall).

French Canadian fans of Montreal weren't happy that an Anglophone player was chosen instead of the popular Francophone Savard who already played for the Junior Canadiens and was well known to Montreal hockey fans.

I heard a rumor that Pollock locked up that draft pick in anticipation of taking Gretzky (who would have been eligible that year under the old rules), but the WHA upset that plan.

 

[lextune]

They both had huge numbers in the juniors, but Doug was a good deal bigger and stronger than Denny (Savard was like 5'9" 170 pounds and Doug was about 6'1" 200).

Turned out to be a bit of a blunder obviously

 

[MS]

Wickenheiser was an absolute force in junior. I'd wondered this question, too, until seeing a highlight package of his WHL career shown when he passed away a few years ago, including a 6-goal game late in his draft year. When you see what he was at that point, it's almost inconceivable that his NHL career would turn out so mediocre - at age 19, he looked to be every bit a superstar in the making.

It should also be noted that his career was really destroyed by injury when he was 24. From 1982-85, he was quite a solid player, and he was really maturing into a good two-way center in St. Louis who was going to push 30 goals in 1984-85. Then came his 'snipe hunt' injury when he ruined his knee falling out of a truck, and he missed a full year and was never close to the same player again.

 

[reckoning]

MS is right. Wickenheiser was gradually developing into a decent player in St. Louis.

Sam Pollock made a living out of suckering the GMs of cellar-dwellers into giving up their picks. He acquired that pick years earlier.

For anyone with Globe&Mail archive access, there's an interesting pre-draft article on June 7/80. It says that Dave Babych was generally regarded as the best available player, but with all the depth Montreal had on defence they were more interested in one of the centres. The main advantage Wickenheiser had over Savard was size. Montreal's centres at the time were on the smallish side (Larouche, Mondou, Jarvis).

The article also said that Montreal offered Winnipeg Guy LaPointe in exchange for their pick, which would've given them the top two picks, but John Ferguson wouldn't bite.

 

[missthenet]

I moved to Regina inn 1971 and had the opportunity to see him play in Regina, they had a great team. They had another forward named Ron Flockhart who also ended up being a hab for q year or two. They had Darren Veitch on defense. Wickenheiser had one heck of a shot and was an all around good hockey player

 

[Lard_Lad]

I heard a rumor that Pollock locked up that draft pick in anticipation of taking Gretzky (who would have been eligible that year under the old rules), but the WHA upset that plan.

Very unlikely. Pollock couldn't have anticipated in 1976 the specific way draft eligibility changed in the wake of the WHA merger - 80 was the only 19-year-old draft, a transition year between the 20-year-old draft in 79 and the 18-year-old one in 81. If he'd really been trying for Gretzky, he would have gone for the #1 in 81, which would've been Gretzky's draft year if the NHL had stayed with 20 as the minimum age.

The actual trade that got the pick was Ron Andruff and Sean Shanahan for the option of switching picks.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Very unlikely. Pollock couldn't have anticipated in 1976 the specific way draft eligibility changed in the wake of the WHA merger - 80 was the only 19-year-old draft, a transition year between the 20-year-old draft in 79 and the 18-year-old one in 81. If he'd really been trying for Gretzky, he would have gone for the #1 in 81, which would've been Gretzky's draft year if the NHL had stayed with 20 as the minimum age.

The actual trade that got the pick was Ron Andruff and Sean Shanahan for the option of switching picks.

it is highly possible, and perhaps probably that Pollack knew the draft afe eligibility rule was going to change.

 

[Lard_Lad]

it is highly possible, and perhaps probably that Pollack knew the draft afe eligibility rule was going to change.

Uh, no. The trade was in the fall of 1976, long before the draft changes were worked out in the wake of the merger in 1979. And Pollock and Montreal management were adamantly against the merger. It looked like they were going to be able to block it, too, right up until people in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Quebec City started boycotting Molson's and the ownership knuckled under.

And at the time of the trade, Gretzky was 15 years old and playing Junior B. He wasn't even the top pick in the OHL midget draft the following year. So for the story to be true, Pollock would've had to have been psychic on a couple of counts.