Wolves retire Dale Hunter’s number 15

January 31st will be a special night for the Sudbury Wolves organization, as the Wolves will be honouring the career of former Sudbury Wolves player Dale Hunter. When Dale Hunter’s London Knights visit the Nickel City Friday night, his jersey will be retired in Sudbury. His career to date is certainly one for the books. Whether you love him or hate him, a big part of his story comes back to his time with the Sudbury Wolves. Hunter has almost done it all in his hockey career and even though he holds countless accomplishments both as a player and coach, he came just shy of hoisting the Stanley Cup. Career highlights include recording over 100 points in his first season with the Sudbury Wolves, becoming the captain of the Washington Capitals, retiring as the first player in NHL history with 300 goals, 1000 points and 3000 penalty minutes, becoming the fastest coach in OHL history to reach 300 and 500 wins and the list continues. Dale Hunter has certainly left his mark on the hockey world.

Dale Hunter grew up on a farm in Petrolia, ON. Hard work, resilience and toughness was drilled into him from a young age. Talk to his father, Dick Hunter, and he will tell you Dale has been a fiery player ever since his days in little league. Hockey ran in the family as Dale’s older brother Mark and Dave both played in the NHL. Dale played Jr. B for the Strathroy Blades. In 1977, Dale Hunter started his junior career in the OHA, now the OHL.  It was during his first season with the Kitchener Rangers that Dale Hunter was traded to the Sudbury Wolves.  Dale Hunter immediately made his presence felt in the Sudbury Community Arena. In his first season in a Sudbury Wolves jersey, Dale Hunter recorded 110 points in 59 games. Quickly, he became one of the most loved players to ever wear a Wolves jersey. If only fans at the time knew what a year 1978-1979 was. Playing at the same time as Mike Foligno, fans watched Dale Hunter start to grow into the player and coach he is today. Hunter made things happen, made his teammates feel more at ease and made his team successful. In the 1979 NHL Entry draft, the Quebec Nordiques drafted Dale Hunter in the 2nd round, 41st overall.

After playing two seasons with the Sudbury Wolves, Hunter made the jump to the NHL. Dale Hunter played 7 seasons with the Quebec Nordique. In his rookie season, the 5’10 forward showed the league he wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything gaining respect after earning 226 penalty minutes and 63 points. Hunter always found a way to get the job done. In 1987, Hunter was traded to the Washington Capitals. He became the heart and soul of the team and was later officially named their captain. Hunter was a superior defensive player, face-off specialist and offensive sparkplug. It was Hunter’s mean-spirited play that summed up Hunter best. He was the ultimate team player and leader; a player who played with every last ounce of heart and soul he had, a player who would and did just about anything to win. (Hockey Legends) In a last ditch effort to win a Stanley Cup, Hunter was traded to the Colorado Avalanche after playing 12 years in Washington. The Avalanche lost to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

After playing 19 years in the NHL, Dale Hunter retired at the age of 39. Hunter retired as the first player in NHL history to record 300 goals, 1000 points and 3000 penalty minutes and finished with 323 goals, 1020 points and 3565 penalty minutes.

Dale Hunter was hired as the Director of Player Development for the Washington Capitals in 1999-2000. The year 2000 was a big year for Hunter. In March his number “32” was retired by the Washington Capitals. Later in May, him and his brothers purchased the London Knights and began to build the empire they have today. Beginning in November of 2001, Hunter made his coaching debut behind the Knights bench. Since the Hunters took over the London Knights, the franchise has become one of the best in the CHL, developing the household names of Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Kane, Nazem Kadri, Dave Bolland, Chris Kelly, John Tavares and the list goes on and on. His extreme understanding of the game made him the successful player and coach he has become. Dale Hunter led the London Knights to their first ever Memorial Cup in 2004-2005. Accomplishments include being named the Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year in 2003-2004, becoming the fastest coach in the OHL to reach 300 career wins and becoming the fastest coach to reach 500 career wins, which he accomplished just last season. Dale Hunter has the best winning percentage in OHL history, winning back-to-back OHL Championships and securing their place in their third consecutive Memorial Cup as hosts. It is no surprise that the London Knights continue to be a leader in the Ontario Hockey League.

Hunter also spent a season as a bench boss in the National Hockey League. In 2012, Dale Hunter spent almost the full season as the head coach of the Washington Capitals before heading back to his London Knights. Although it may have been a short amount of time it was a meaningful. While he was there, he changed the team’s mentality, made every player accountable and transformed the team into a hardworking, honest team that other clubs did not want to play. After Hunter announced he was leaving the Capitals, Brooks Liach spoke saying “He taught us as much about leadership and team aspect and respect amongst players and trust in your teammates as he did about hockey”. Another player said his favourite thing about Hunter was his ability to calm us down after every win or loss.

Friday night, another banner will be raised to the rafters beside Ron Duguay, Mike Foligno and Randy Carlyle. Join us when we retire Dale Hunter’s #15 on January 31st.

Game time is 7:30pm. Great seats are still available. Be a part of history by purchasing your tickets at the Sudbury Arena Box Office at 705-671-3000 or online at www.greatersudbury.ca.