Jim Sandlak

Last updated
Jim Sandlak
Born (1966-12-12) December 12, 1966 (age 57)
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Hartford Whalers
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL draft 4th overall, 1985
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1985–1998

James Sandlak, Jr. (born December 12, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League and was known as "the House" due to his large stature.

Contents

Playing career

Sandlak played major junior with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Heading into the 1985 NHL Entry Draft he was regarded as one of the top-rated players for the draft. [1] He was selected by the Vancouver Canucks with the fourth overall pick; at 6'4" and 220 lbs he was chosen to address the Canucks' desire for a big scoring forward. [2] He confirmed this status with a dominant performance at the 1986 World Junior Championships, at which he was the captain of the Canadian team and was named the tournament's top forward. Convinced that Sandlak was a better prospect than the slow-developing Cam Neely (who played the same position and style), Canuck management decided that Neely was expendable, and dealt him to the Boston Bruins for Barry Pederson in what would later be labelled by many commentators as one of the worst trades ever made.

Sandlak had a solid rookie year in 1986–87, scoring 15 goals and being selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team. After a poor training camp in 1987, he was sent to the AHL, but responded well upon his recall, scoring 16 goals in 49 games. He scored 20 goals the following season, but continued to struggle with comparisons to the superstar Neely and frustrate fans and management alike with his inconsistency. By the 1990–91 season he was getting less ice time on the Canucks, scoring just 7 goals.

However, Sandlak rebounded in 1991–92 to play the best hockey of his career on a rejuvenated Canuck team. Playing largely with Sergio Momesso and Cliff Ronning (a line dubbed the "Twin Towers" due to Ronning's small stature accentuating the size of his two larger linemates), Sandlak matched his career high of 40 points despite missing almost 20 games due to injury. In the 1992 playoffs, Sandlak finally put his game together and looked like the power forward he was always supposed to be, as he was arguably the best player in Vancouver's opening-round victory against Winnipeg, and contributed 10 points in that playoffs while playing a dominant physical game.

However, just as Sandlak's career appeared headed in the right direction, injuries began to take their toll. His 1992–93 season was plagued by back problems which caused him to miss 25 games as well as most of the playoffs, and limited him to just 10 goals. Following the season, he was dealt to the Hartford Whalers as the future considerations in the Murray Craven trade. His two seasons with the Whalers were an absolute nightmare, however, as wrist, foot, knee, and heel injuries limited him to just 40 games and 8 points over that span. Released by the Whalers in 1995, he returned to Vancouver for the 1995–96 season, but again struggled with injuries (this time a stress fracture to a vertebra in his back) and his level of play had dropped off considerably. Following a failed tryout with Buffalo the following season he retired from the NHL, although he returned after a year off for a season in Germany before leaving the game for good.

Sandlak finished his career with totals of 110 goals and 229 points in 549 career games, along with 821 penalty minutes.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1982–83 Kitchener Rangers OHL 10000—————
1983–84 London Knights OHL6823184114381111213
1984–85 London KnightsOHL58402464128832514
1985–86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 231341030110
1985–86 London KnightsOHL167132036523524
1986–87 Vancouver CanucksNHL7815213666—————
1987–88 Vancouver CanucksNHL4916153181—————
1987–88 Fredericton Express AHL 2410152547—————
1988–89 Vancouver CanucksNHL722020409961122
1989–90 Vancouver CanucksNHL7015823104—————
1990–91 Vancouver CanucksNHL597613125—————
1991–92 Vancouver CanucksNHL6616244017613461022
1992–93 Vancouver CanucksNHL5910182812262244
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL2762832—————
1994–95 Hartford WhalersNHL130000—————
1995–96 Vancouver CanucksNHL33426650002
1995–96 Syracuse Crunch AHL1261716—————
1997–98 ERC Ingolstadt DEU II 1869158530112
NHL totals549110119229821337101730

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1985 Canada WJC 51016
1986 CanadaWJC7571216
Junior totals12671322

Coaching

Sandlak was an assistant coach with the Sarnia Sting of the OHL in 2007-2008.

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References

  1. ↑ Houston, William (1985-02-05). "Sandlak No. 1 Prospect". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. S1.
  2. ↑ Houston, William (1985-06-17). "Simpson overjoyed to become a Penguin". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. S3.
  3. ↑ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.518, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN   978-1-55468-621-6
Preceded by Vancouver Canucks first round draft pick
1985 		Succeeded by
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