David George John Ellett (born March 30, 1964) is an American-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

who played in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

for 16 seasons. He was born in Cleveland because his father, Bob, was a minor-league hockey player playing for the Cleveland Barons of the AHL.

Playing career

Ellett was drafted 75th overall by the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

and then played the next two seasons at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...

. In Ellett's second (and final) season at BGSU (1983–84), the Falcons won the NCAA Championship. When Ellett joined the Jets in 1984, he was a solid defenseman right away, scoring 38 points and garnering a +20 plus/minus rating. He became part of a solid Jets nucleus in the mid-to-late 80's that had the misfortune of playing in the same division as the dominant

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

. As a result, Ellett did not garner very much late-round playoff experience with the Jets. Ellett's most notable moment with the Jets came in the 1990 Smythe Division semi-final series against the Edmonton Oilers. With the game tied at 2–2 in the second overtime period, Ellett scored a power play goal to give the Jets the win and a 3–1 series lead. Despite losing the next 3 games to the Oilers, this goal is considered the most memorable goal in the Jets' NHL history. In the middle of the 1990–91 season, Ellett was traded to 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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

with Paul Fenton for

Ed Olczyk Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. (; born August 16, 1966) is a former center in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He ...

and Mark Osborne. It was with the Leafs that Ellett transitioned from an offensive defenceman into a solid two-way rearguard. He was an integral part to the Leafs clubs of

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

that reached the Conference Finals. Ellett was traded to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

with

Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the ...

in the 1996–97 season, but only played with the club until the end of the season. He then played with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

for two years and then the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

for a year before retiring. He played his 1000th career game with Boston on March 1, 1998, against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. He retired in 2000. In 1989 Ellett was the subject of controversy when he decided to play for Team Canada in the World Championships. Bob Johnson, coach of the American team, complained that Ellett had to play for the United States because of his birthplace and because he attended Team USA's training camp for the

1987 Canada Cup The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team C ...

. Ellett was allowed to play for Team Canada because he never actually played for the USA internationally. Ellett was part of one of

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 ...

's most-remembered goals. In Game 7 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals between the Leafs and the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, Gretzky scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

. He scored his third goal from behind the net by banking it off Ellett's skate and past the Toronto goaltender,

Félix Potvin Félix "The Cat" Potvin (born June 23, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Early career As a youth, Potvin played in the 1983 and 1984 Quebec International Pe ...

. Ellett returned the favor by scoring for Toronto with just over a minute remaining, but Los Angeles hung on to win the game and go to the Stanley Cup Finals against

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Awards and honours

Records

*Most points by a

defenceman in a playoff year (18 in

) *Most assists by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman in a playoff year (15 in 1994)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Hockey Draft Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellett, Dave 1964 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins players Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players Bowling Green State University alumni Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey players from Cleveland Living people National Hockey League All-Stars New Jersey Devils players St. Louis Blues players Toronto Maple Leafs players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) draft picks Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions