Harold Druken

Harold Druken
Born (1979-01-26) January 26, 1979
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Carolina Hurricanes
Toronto Maple Leafs
EHC Basel
NHL Draft 36th overall, 1997
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1999–2010

Harold Druken (born January 26, 1979) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted 36th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He played for the Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs during his National Hockey League (NHL) career, and also played professionally in Switzerland for EHC Basel. Druken spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues with the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates of the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes.

Playing career

Druken enjoyed a prolific three-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career, spent with the Detroit/Plymouth Whalers franchise, during which time he was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team in 1997 and OHL Second All-Star Team in 1999.[1] His most productive season in the OHL was a 58-goal, 103-point effort in 1998–99, which was good for seventh in league scoring. He represented Canada at the 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal and became life-long friends with Roberto Luongo.[2]

Druken was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 36th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft following his OHL rookie season. He turned pro in 1999–2000 and split the season between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He tallied 45 points in 47 games with the Crunch, earning him AHL All-Rookie honours, while also appearing in 33 games for Vancouver and recording 7 goals.

The following season, he spent time with the Canucks' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Kansas City Blades, but spent the majority of the campaign with the Canucks, a season in which he appeared in an NHL career-high 55 games and registered 15 goals and 30 points, including a hatrick on Dec 8 against the San Jose Sharks. Druken ended a 13-goal scoring drought late in the season when he recorded a 2 goals in a crucial game for the Canucks on April 6, 2001, against the Los Angeles Kings. He scored his second goal of the game just outside the lip of the crease to beat Felix Potvin in overtime, secure a 3–2 win and a Canucks' playoff berth for the first time in five years.[3] The Canucks finished the season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference and were swept in the opening round by the Colorado Avalanche. Druken contributed 1 assist in the series, the only NHL playoff appearance of his career.

Following Druken's breakout 30-point campaign of the previous season, he suffered an ankle injury on November 30, 2001, in a game against the Colorado Avalanche[4] and missed the majority of the 2001–02 season.[1] As a result, Druken appeared in just 27 games for the Canucks and managed just 8 points. He was also sent down during the season to the Canucks' new AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose for 11 games, in which he produced at a point-per-game pace with 2 goals and 9 assists.

The injury seemingly derailed Druken's NHL career as he was subsequently bounced around the NHL for the next several seasons in a series of transactions. He was traded from the Canucks on November 1, 2002, to the Carolina Hurricanes along with forward Jan Hlavac in exchange for defenceman Marek Malik and forward Darren Langdon.[1] Little more than a month later, he was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes on December 11 and was picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1] A month later, he was waived once again and was re-acquired by the Hurricanes on January 17, 2003.[1] Druken played the remainder of the season for the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters then was traded back to the Maple Leafs in the off-season on May 29, 2003, in exchange for defenceman Allan Rourke.[1] With the exception of 9 games with the Maple Leafs in 2003–04, Druken spent the rest of his North American professional career in the minor leagues with the St. John's Maple Leafs with 51- and 38-point seasons in 2003–04 and 2004–05.

In 2005–06, Druken went overseas to Switzerland to play for EHC Basel of the Nationalliga A, but appeared in only 18 games, registering 10 points.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1996–97 Detroit Whalers OHL 63 27 31 58 14 5 3 2 5 0
1997–98 Plymouth Whalers OHL 64 38 44 82 12 15 9 11 20 4
1998–99 Plymouth Whalers OHL 60 58 45 103 34 10 9 12 21 14
1999–00 Syracuse Crunch AHL 47 20 25 45 32 4 1 2 3 6
1999–00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 33 7 9 16 10 — — — — —
2000–01 Kansas City Blades IHL 15 5 9 14 20 — — — — —
2000–01 Vancouver Canucks NHL 55 15 15 30 14 4 0 1 1 0
2001–02 Manitoba Moose AHL 11 2 9 11 4 — — — — —
2001–02 Vancouver Canucks NHL 27 4 4 8 6 — — — — —
2002–03 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 24 8 10 18 8 — — — — —
2002–03 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 6 0 3 3 2 — — — — —
2002–03 Vancouver Canucks NHL 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 14 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2003–04 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 57 26 25 51 31 — — — — —
2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 9 0 4 4 2 — — — — —
2004–05 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 48 18 20 38 28 — — — — —
2005–06 HC Sierre NL-B 18 6 4 10 32 — — — — —
2005–06 EHC Basel NL-A 18 6 4 10 34 — — — — —
2008–09 Deer Lake Red Wings NWCSHL 24 16 28 44 18 13 7 13 20 12
NHL totals 146 27 36 63 36 4 0 1 1 0
AHL totals 193 74 92 166 105 4 1 2 3 6
OHL totals 187 123 120 243 60 31 21 25 46 18

International

Harold Druken
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
1999 Winnipeg
Year Team Comp GP G A Pts
1999 Canada WJC 7 1 1 2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Harold Druken". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  2. ↑ http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/08/14/luongos-tire-theft-solved/
  3. ↑ "Canucks clinch playoff berth". CBC. 2001-04-06. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  4. ↑ "Team defense deserves the credit, Modano says". ESPN. 2001-12-02. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
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