Drafted Into Obscurity < Dan Dorion >

The annals of National Hockey League are littered with incredibly talented also-rans and could've beens. A multitude of players who, if they had the right coaching and situations, might have gone on to dazzle a generation of fans and captivate their never-ending dreams of championships.

  

Dorion with Utica in 1987 

One such player had all the talent, magic hands and ice presence to succeed but none of the size to play such a physically demanding game - Dan Dorion. Standing at a diminutive 5'9" and weighing a small 180 lbs, Dorion was always given the unenvial task of proving himself time and time again because of his tiny stature. Even though he was a proven dominating sniper at every level of hockey he had played in, Dorion's size was always in question. And this was the case again in the summer of 1982 when the New York native was tapped by the newly-minted New Jersey Devils. Dorion's stock fell as a far any talented player's stock could fall as the Devils made him their last pick in the 12th round of the entry draft.

The NHL's braintrust have always held the belief that bigger is better. Year after year general managers around the league task their scouting staff to find the next great player who combines the important measures of size, speed and talent. And its always the same critirea in that same order. For players like Dan Dorion, who have incredible talent, the deck is consistently stacked against them. No matter how many goals they score (ironic, isn't that the object of the game??) little men who burn out the lamps with league-leading titlting tallies always seem to be looked upon with suspicion.

Western Michigan Mustangs

Maine in 1987

Dorion was lighting up the USHL for Austin, 96 points in 50 games, as an 18-year-old when the Devils came calling. The tiny scorer continued his development in the US college ranks at Western Michigan University. While with the Broncos, Dorion put up some prolific numbers running up an incredible 293 points over his four college years, placing him 8th overall for career NCAA men's hockey. In 1986, he was the runner up to the Hobey Baker award for best men's hockey player and was a finalist for the award two year's earlier in 1984.

 After such an amazing college career one would think NHL scouts would've been knocking down his door for a chance to draft such a talent. But it wasn't to be for Dorion as his size became his major stumbling block.

Utica in 1989

Dorion playing for his country in 1986

Dorion finally got his crack at the NHL in the spring of 1986, playing three games while adding his only points - one goal and one assist.
He was on his way to hockey obscurity after New Jersey left him to languish in the AHL for the next season in 1987, finally giving him another taste of NHL action - one last game in 1988.

Dorion as he could see the writing on the wall of his limited NHL career. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers AHL farm team in 1988 and Dorion was on his way to Europe permanently a year later in 1990.
As a footnote to his pro hockey career, Dorion had a four-year-run in the British Hockey League, starring for Nottingham and Humberside to close out his time on the ice.