Dan Woodley

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Position Centre
Shot Right
Height
Weight
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
200 lb (91 kg/14 st 4 lb)
Pro clubs Vancouver Canucks
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Born December 29, 1967 (1967-12-29) (age 40),
Oklahoma City, OK, U.S.
NHL Draft 7th overall, 1986
Vancouver Canucks
Pro career 1987 – 1988

Dan Woodley (born December 29, 1967 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played briefly in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks during the 1987–88 NHL season.

Woodley was selected 7th overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Canucks. Blessed with size and a mean streak together with a natural goalscoring touch, he helped the Portland Winter Hawks to the 1986 Memorial Cup Finals and was considered a sure-fire NHL winger. He would turn pro in 1987–88 and have a solid season, recording 66 points in 69 IHL games and scoring 2 goals in a 5-game stint with the Canucks.

However, Woodley's career would go quickly downhill. After a poor start to the 1988–89 season in the IHL, he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens for Jose Charbonneau in an exchange of struggling prospects. He wouldn't fare any better in Montreal's system, and finished the year with just 18 goals. Following two more mediocre seasons on the farm for Montreal, he was released in 1991. At this point, he ended up in the ECHL and played four more seasons in low minor pro before retiring in 1995.

Woodley is generally considered one of the biggest NHL draft busts of the 1980s. No player drafted higher during that decade played fewer than his 5 NHL games, and he was one of only three top-10 picks (Jason Herter and Dan Gratton being the others) to play fewer than 10 NHL games. His failures were especially painful for the Canucks considering that future Hockey Hall of Fame defender Brian Leetch, who would star against Vancouver in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, was selected just 2 picks later by the New York Rangers.

Woodley currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his family. He coaches the Regis Jesuit High School varsity team. In his third year with the team, the 2007–2008 Regis Jesuit HS team posted an overall record of 20-1-1 and captured the state High School championship with a dramatic double-overtime 3–2 victory.


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