Dale Allen McCourt (born January 26, 1957) is a Canadian former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
forward. He played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
with the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
,
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
, and
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
between 1977 and 1984. He later played with
HC Ambrì–Piotta in the Swiss
Nationalliga A between 1985 and 1992. He was selected
first overall by the Red Wings in the
1977 NHL amateur draft. Internationally McCourt played for the
Canadian national team at the
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and
1981 World Championships.
Junior hockey
McCourt played major junior in the
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...
(OHA, renamed OMJHL during his tenure, today's
OHL). As a 15-year-old, he was already playing
Tier II junior hockey when called up by the
Sudbury Wolves
The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...
for part of the
1972–73 OHA season
This is a list of OHA standings and season-by-season summaries of the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior A division from 1933 to 1972, and its Tier I division from 1972 to 1974.
;Legend
* GP = games played
* W = wins
* L = losses
* T = ties
* ...
. He joined the
Hamilton Red Wings for the full
1973–74 OHA season
This is a list of OHA standings and season-by-season summaries of the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Hockey Association's Junior A division from 1933 to 1972, and its Tier I division from 1972 to 1974.
;Legend
* GP = games played
* W = wins
* ...
, and was team captain by the time the (renamed)
Hamilton Fincups won the
1975–76 OMJHL Championship and then the national
1976 Memorial Cup championship.
In
1976–77, McCourt led the relocated St. Catharines Fincups as the team won the
OMJHL Regular Season Championship. That season, McCourt was awarded the
Red Tilson Trophy
The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the On ...
as the league's Most Outstanding Player and was voted the nationwide
CHL Player of the Year. Dale was also awarded the
William Hanley Trophy as the OMJHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player in both
1975–76 and 1976–77.
In the
1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, McCourt scored 18 points, a Canadian record he shares with
Brayden Schenn and one point more than
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals prior to being chosen first overall in the 1991 NHL entry d ...
and
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
.
McCourt was drafted 1st overall by the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
in the
1977 NHL amateur draft. He made an impression on the Detroit Red Wings after being the first NHL amateur pick in 1977. He successfully scored 33 goals in the first year with the team.
Professional career
McCourt led the Red Wings in scoring during his
1977–78 rookie season, finishing second to
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving ...
winner
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...
for rookie scoring in the NHL that year.
Legal battle
Before the start of the
1978–79 season, Red Wings
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Ted Lindsay
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay (July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 ...
signed goaltender
Rogatien Vachon of the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
, who was a
restricted free agent
A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...
at that time. An NHL arbitrator ruled that McCourt should be the compensation given the Kings for Vachon's loss, but McCourt refused to report to the Kings. Ultimately, this led to McCourt suing the NHL, the
National Hockey League Players' Association
The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA, ) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey ...
(NHLPA), the Red Wings, and the Kings to prevent being sent to the Los Angeles Kings as a part of any compensation package. During this lawsuit, McCourt remained playing for the Red Wings, finishing the season second in Red Wing scoring (by two points) for 1978-79. The matter was eventually resolved and McCourt remained in Detroit, but he felt betrayed by the fact that his own NHLPA, led by executive director
Alan Eagleson
Robert Alan Eagleson (born April 24, 1933) is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, hockey agent and promoter. Clients that he represented included superstars Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler. He was the first executive director of the NHL Players Assoc ...
, did not back him against the owners during the lawsuit. His legal case created a huge impact on sport and was the first sports case to challenge the antitrust laws during the bargaining agreement.
Trade
McCourt continued to be the Red Wings' top scorer in both his third (
1979–80) and fourth (
1980–81) seasons. Despite this, and while leading the team in scoring a third of the way through the
1981–82 season, management did not feel he had met their overall expectations and traded McCourt to the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
in December 1981. McCourt produced at a point-a-game pace during his time with the Red Wings but the team failed to make the playoffs for three of his four years. He played with Buffalo before being claimed on waivers by the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
in October 1983, finishing his NHL career at the end of the
1983–84 NHL season
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
League business Ownership change ...
, with 478 points in 532 games played.
McCourt then played eight seasons for
HC Ambrì-Piotta
Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and blues). Though they have never won the leagu ...
in the
top Swiss league. Ambrì-Piotta retired McCourt's number 15 jersey.
Hockey family
McCourt's brother Dan was an NHL linesman during the 1980s and early 1990s.
McCourt's uncle is
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
member
George Armstrong. Armstrong won the
Red Tilson Trophy
The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the On ...
as the OHA's Most Outstanding Player in both 1947–48 and
1949–50, the same award that McCourt received in 1976–77. Armstrong was the coach of the
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...
when they won the national
Memorial Cup Championship in
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
and
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, the same championship that McCourt won as a player with the
Hamilton Fincups in
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
*Directorate Award, Best Forward,
1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships[Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.510, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCourt, Dale
1957 births
Living people
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian ice hockey centres
Detroit Red Wings captains
Detroit Red Wings draft picks
Detroit Red Wings players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
First Nations sportspeople
Hamilton Fincups players
Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) players
HC Ambrì-Piotta players
Indianapolis Racers draft picks
First overall NHL draft picks
NHL first-round draft picks
Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury
Sudbury Wolves players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
20th-century Canadian sportsmen