David J. Hanson (born April 12, 1954) is an American 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 ...

player. He played 33 games 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 ...

between 1978 and 1980, and 103 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

between 1977 and 1979.

Biography

Hanson was born in

Cumberland, Wisconsin Cumberland is a city in Barron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,274 at the 2020 census. The city is located partially within the Cumberland, Barron County, Wisconsin, Town of Cumberland. It was incorporated in 1885. History ...

, and grew up in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, where he eventually starred in football, baseball and hockey at

Humboldt Senior High School Humboldt Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States which serves students in grades 6-12. The school is the smallest of the nine high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with an enr ...

. Hanson continued playing hockey for the St. Paul Vulcans and for

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach (ice hockey), coach. His most notable achievement came in Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning Un ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

college team. Hanson played four seasons for 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 ...

and

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

of the

, and the

New England Whalers New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976 ...

and Birmingham Bulls of the

. In a playoff game for the Bulls, he accidentally knocked off the hairpiece of

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull (January 3, 1939 – January 30, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blond hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot t ...

, who had to take a moment in the dressing room to get a helmet. He was originally cast as "Dave 'Killer' Carlson" in the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

film ''

Slap Shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd, and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity ...

'', but when Jack Carlson was unable to perform because his team was in the playoffs, Hanson was recast as "Jack Hanson", one of the

Hanson Brothers The Hanson Brothers are a fictional trio of siblings who played for the fictional minor league ice hockey team the ''Charlestown Chiefs'' in the 1977 movie '' Slap Shot'' and its two sequels. The characters – ''Dave'', ''Steve'', and ''Jeff ...

. Professional actor

Jerry Houser Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in '' Summer of '42'' and its sequel, ''Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in ''Slap Shot,'' and as Wally Logan, the husb ...

was then cast as "Killer", the character based on Dave Hanson. Hanson appeared in several other films, and won a "DVD Premiere Award", along with fellow Hanson Brothers

Steve Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation) ...

and Jeff Carlson (brothers of Jack Carlson), for his part in the 2002 sequel '' Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice''. In 1977, Hanson married Sue Kaschalk, a coal miner's daughter from Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania.Sports Illustrated, July 2, 2007, p. 106. He has two daughters and one son,

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, a center whose professional career included time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, AHL teams and the Norwegian champion

Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, commonly referred to as the Stavanger Oilers, is a Norwegian professional ice hockey team based in Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the Fjordkraftligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. As o ...

. At one point Hanson was general manager of the

Capital District Islanders The Capital District Islanders were a team in the American Hockey League based in Troy, New York, which is located within a region popularly called the Capital District. The Islanders were the principal minor league affiliate of the National Hoc ...

in upstate New York, then 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 (N ...

farm team and the Albany River Rats, the New Jersey Devils farm team. he resides in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and manages a sports center at

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American Revolution". It enr ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
HansonBrothers.net

Dave Hanson on his book, Slapshot Original
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, David 1954 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players American men's ice hockey defensemen American male film actors Birmingham Bulls (CHL) players Birmingham Bulls (WHA) players Detroit Red Wings players Hampton Gulls (AHL) players Hampton Gulls (SHL) players Ice hockey players from Wisconsin Ice hockey people from Saint Paul, Minnesota Indianapolis Checkers (CHL) players Johnstown Jets players Kansas City Red Wings players Minnesota Fighting Saints draft picks Minnesota Fighting Saints players Minnesota North Stars players New England Whalers players Oklahoma City Stars players People from Cumberland, Wisconsin Rhode Island Reds players Toledo Goaldiggers players Undrafted National Hockey League players