Darren Haydar | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() Haydar with the Chicago Wolves in 2012 | |||
Born | Milton, Ontario, Canada | October 22, 1979||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
Position | Right Wing | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for | Nashville Predators Atlanta Thrashers Colorado Avalanche EHC München KHL Medveščak Zagreb EC VSV | ||
NHL Draft | 248th overall, 1999 Nashville Predators | ||
Playing career | 2002–2016 |
Darren J. Haydar (born October 22, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Haydar was selected by the Nashville Predators in the ninth round (248th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He is one of the top AHL players of all-time, having won two Calder Cup championships and is the AHL’s all-time leader in playoff goals (63), assists (80) and points (143). [1] Despite his prowess in the AHL, Haydar played little in the NHL, scoring only a single goal and eight points over 23 games.
Prior to turning professional Haydar played two years with the Milton Merchants of the Junior A Ontario Provincial Hockey League, where he established league records for goals (71) and points (140) in a season. He then spent four years (1998–2002) for the University of New Hampshire, scoring 219 points with 102 goals. In 2002, he was named a First Team All-American and was Hockey East Player of the Year.
He was drafted 248th overall by Nashville Predators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. On September 11, 2002, Haydar signed a three-year entry level contract with the Predators. [2] He spent almost all of his Predators career at their farm team as a standout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, only playing twice for the Predators, both in the 2002–03 NHL season. He helped the Admirals win the Calder Cup in the 2003–04 season.
Haydar was signed by the Atlanta Thrashers as a Free Agent on July 4, 2006. [3] He was assigned to affiliate the Chicago Wolves for the 2006–07 season. On December 23, 2006, Haydar picked up a point in his 32nd consecutive game, breaking the record for the longest AHL scoring streak. The stick used by Haydar as well as the hockey puck involved in the record-breaking point were preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He went on to notch a point in 39 consecutive games, tallying 79 points during the streak. [4] At season's end Haydar finished with 122 points in 73 games. He was named in the AHL's First All-Star Team and won the Les Cunningham Award for being the AHL's most valuable player. [5]
In the 2007–08 season, Haydar again was relied heavily upon with the Wolves, and was instrumental in helping the Wolves win the Calder Cup, his second. Darren also played as a reserve forward with the Thrashers and scored his first NHL goal on October 13, 2007, against Martin Brodeur in a 6-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils. [6]
For the 2008–09 season, Haydar was signed by the Detroit Red Wings on July 23, 2008. [7] He was assigned to and named captain of affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins, leading the Griffins in scoring with 80 points in 79 games. As a result, was named in the 2008–09 AHL's Second All-Star Team. [8]
On July 4, 2009, Haydar was signed by the Colorado Avalanche to a one-year contract. [9] Haydar was reassigned by the Avalanche to affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, prior to the 2009–10 season. While leading the Monsters in scoring, Darren was named to play in the 2010 AHL All-Star game but missed the game due to injury. [10] Upon his return Haydar was recalled by the injury hit Avalanche on February 10, 2010. [11] He made his Avalanche debut and played his first NHL game since 2007 on the same day in a 4-3 overtime win against the Thrashers. [12] Haydar was returned to the Monsters and in the last game of the season he recorded an assist, to become the 43rd player in history to reach 600 points. [13]
A free agent at season's end, Haydar signed an AHL contract to return to the team he formerly captained, the Chicago Wolves on July 28, 2010. [14] In 2013, as part of the Milwaukee Admirals celebrating their 35th season, Haydar was voted by fans as the 3rd greatest Milwaukee Admiral of all time.
After three further seasons with the Wolves, Haydar left North America for the first time in his career and signed a one-year contract in Europe with EHC München of the DEL on July 25, 2013. [15]
In 2013, he was added to the Team Canada roster for the 2013 Spengler Cup. Haydar finished in a tie with Byron Ritchie for the team scoring lead with a pair of goals and four assists. [16]
Upon completing a single season in the DEL on June 9, 2014, he signed a one-year contract, along with former Wolves teammate, Jason Krog, in the Kontinental Hockey League with Croatian club, KHL Medveščak Zagreb. [17] In the 2014–15 season, having recorded just 1 assist in 4 games, Haydar opted to leave the club. With Krog following suit, they both signed a try-out contract with Austrian club, EC VSV, on October 2, 2014. After showing early scoring touch in Villach, Krog and Haydar both opted to remain signing a one-year contract on October 15, 2014. [18]
In the off-season, Haydar left Villach as a free agent and returned to play for a second stint in Germany after signing with Lausitzer Füchse of the DEL2 on September 28, 2015. [19] [20]
Suffering an off-season training back injury, Haydar has opted to sit out the 2016–17 season — having recently returned to Milton after three seasons in Europe and in the midst of making plans for his post-playing future. [21] He later concluded his professional career in accepting a position as a sales representative at a real estate entity in Milton, Ontario, working alongside his older brother Ryan, who was also a hockey player but now has officially retired.
In 2018, Haydar was inducted into his hometown Milton Sports Hall of Fame along with his teammates on the 1996-98 Milton Merchant teams. [22] In 2019, Haydar was inducted into the same hall as a standalone athlete inductee. [23] In 2020, the Milwaukee Admirals retired Haydar's jersey and celebrate his accomplishments with a bobble-head night. [24]
After first experiencing symptoms in 2012, Haydar was diagnosed over a year later with multiple sclerosis and has organized a charity golf tournament in support of the MS Society of Canada’s Hamilton-Halton Chapter since 2017. He is married to Sara, who is a throat cancer survivor, and he has three sons. He works in real estate with his older brother, Ryan. [25]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1995–96 | Milton Merchants | OPJHL | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1996–97 | Milton Merchants | OPJHL | 51 | 32 | 68 | 100 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1997–98 | Milton Merchants | OPJHL | 51 | 71 | 69 | 140 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1998–99 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 41 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1999–00 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 38 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2000–01 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 39 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2001–02 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 40 | 31 | 45 | 76 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 75 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
2002–03 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 79 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 35 | 22 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 10 | ||
2004–05 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 59 | 24 | 26 | 50 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | ||
2005–06 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 80 | 35 | 57 | 92 | 50 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 18 | ||
2006–07 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 73 | 41 | 81 | 122 | 55 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 14 | ||
2006–07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2007–08 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 51 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 52 | 24 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 8 | ||
2007–08 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 16 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2008–09 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 79 | 31 | 49 | 80 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | ||
2009–10 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 66 | 23 | 41 | 64 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2009–10 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 77 | 27 | 47 | 74 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 70 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 32 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | ||
2012–13 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 71 | 20 | 37 | 57 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | EHC München | DEL | 44 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
2014–15 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2014–15 | EC VSV | EBEL | 45 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | ||
2015–16 | Lausitzer Füchse | DEL2 | 42 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2017–18 | Dundas Real McCoys | ACH | 13 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
2018–19 | Dundas Real McCoys | ACH | 12 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | ||
2019–20 | Dundas Real McCoys | ACH | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
AHL totals | 780 | 292 | 496 | 788 | 506 | 110 | 63 | 80 | 143 | 70 | ||||
NHL totals | 23 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
|
|
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are currently operating as the lone independent franchise in the league. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, and are owned by Chicago business owners Don Levin and Buddy Meyers.
Jonathan "Bates" Battaglia is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 to 2008. He finished his professional career in 2012 with Karlskrona HK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.
Niclas Bergfors is a Swedish professional ice hockey right winger currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Djurgårdens IF then of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, playing for the organization for four-and-a-half seasons before joining the Atlanta Thrashers 2010, Florida Panthers in 2011 and Nashville Predators via free agency in 2011. He later joined the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan in late 2011 before signing with Severstal Cherepovets. In 2013, he joined Admiral Vladivostok, where he played for three seasons before joining Amur Khabarovsk in a mid-season trade.
Anthony Stewart is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, having played in the NHL, AHL, and KHL. He was born in Quebec, and his family moved to Toronto while he was a child. Stewart played minor hockey in Toronto, winning three all-Ontario championships. After his minor hockey career, he was selected by the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft. After two seasons with Kingston, he was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, at 25th overall. He spent four years in the Panthers' system, dividing his time between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL), after which he joined the Atlanta Thrashers for two years. When the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg to become the new Winnipeg Jets, they did not offer him a new contract, and he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes as a free agent. After one season in Carolina he was traded to the Kings, but spent most of the season in the minor leagues. He signed a professional tryout contract with the San Jose Sharks to begin the 2013–14 NHL season, but was not offered a contract. He subsequently signed with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the KHL. His younger brother Chris also played in the NHL, and retired after the 2019–2020 season playing for Philadelphia Flyers.
Kurtis Foster is a Canadian ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 408 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Boris Valábik is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman and current television presenter. Valábik was drafted in the first round, tenth overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers and played 80 regular season games for the Thrashers.
Derek MacKenzie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the NHL's Nashville Predators.
Jason Krog is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre last contracted by Lørenskog IK in the Norwegian GET-ligaen (GET).
Gregory Dean "Greg" Classen is a German-Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Classen played a total of 90 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) all with the Nashville Predators. He also appeared in 321 American Hockey League (AHL) games between six seasons and four different teams. After his career in North America he moved to Europe and retired after the 2018–19 season in the German Eishockey-Oberliga with the Rostock Piranhas. In total Classen played 21 seasons professionally with 15 different clubs.
John Richard Peverley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent four years with the St. Lawrence University hockey team before turning professional, then playing three years for several teams in both the ECHL and American Hockey League (AHL). In 2007, he signed a contract with the Nashville Predators of the NHL, playing for the team for parts of three seasons before the Atlanta Thrashers claimed him off waivers in 2009. Peverley first played internationally for Team Canada at the 2010 World Championships. He retired after the 2013–14 season because of a heart ailment.
Alexandre Giroux is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently playing for the Thetford Assurancia of the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He previously played in the National League (NL) with HC Ambrì-Piotta and EHC Kloten. He is the son of former World Hockey Association player Rejean Giroux.
Wacey Rabbit is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the American Hockey League (AHL) and current assistant coach of the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Drew MacIntyre is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. As of 2021, he is a developmental goaltending coach and scout for the Winnipeg Jets in the National Hockey League.
Brett Stewart Sterling is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the St. Louis Blues.
Richard Seeley is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. In 2018, he was named the general manager of the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League by the Reign's NHL affiliate, the Los Angeles Kings.
Grant Lewis is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman.
James Wright is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He won a Memorial Cup with the Vancouver Giants in 2007 and was selected by Tampa Bay 117th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Derek A. Smith is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player. Smith formerly played with the Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently the Head Coach & GM of the Trenton Golden Hawks of the OJHL.
Matt Donovan is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League (AHL). Donovan was selected by the New York Islanders in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Sean Dolan is an American professional ice hockey player. He last played with the Lausitzer Füchse of the German DEL2 league.