Gordie Dwyer

Gordie Dwyer
Born January 25, 1978
Dalhousie, NB, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Tampa Bay Lightning
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 67th overall, 1996
St. Louis Blues
152nd overall, 1998
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1998–2008

Gordie Rick Dwyer (born January 25, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. He was the head coach of the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 2011 to 2015.

Playing career

He attended Philemon Wright High School in Hull, Quebec while playing for the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL. He has also played for the Laval Titan, Beauport Harfangs, Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL.

He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 3rd round, 67th overall, of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Unable to reach a contract agreement with St. Louis, Dwyer re-entered the draft in 1998 and was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 6th round, 152nd overall.

Dwyer achieved notoriety after receiving a 23 game suspension for leaving the penalty box to engage in a fight and verbally and physically abusing officials when they broke up the resulting bench-clearing brawl in a pre-season game against the Washington Capitals as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 19, 2000. The suspension stands as one of the longest in NHL history.[1]

In 2004, he signed as a free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes but never played for them, he played for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League, where he had 9 points and 183 penalty minutes in 56 games. He remained with Lowell for the 2005–06 season and due to a shoulder injury, he played only 17 games where he had 4 points with 37 penalty minutes. He went to the Vancouver Canucks training camp in 2006 hoping to earn a roster space. He also attended the New York Islanders 2007 training camp where he was a late cut. Through 108 NHL contests he has never scored a goal, though he has obtained 5 assists and 394 penalty minutes.

He spent the latter half of the 2006–07 season with the Örebro Vipers of Swedish Division 1. In his first game for Örebro, he notched two assists, where he had 15 points and 16 penalty minutes in 11 games. In the 2007–08 season he played in Villingen-Schwenningen for the SERC Wild Wings in the German Bundesliga Germany2, where he had 7 points and 34 penalty minutes in 14 games. and previously for the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, where he had 3 points and 27 penalty minutes in 13 games. He repeated with the Örebro Watford Vipers of Swedish Division 1 for the 2008-2009 season, where he had 7 points and 79 penalty minutes in 13 games.

Post-playing career

Dwyer was named Head Coach and Associate General Manager of the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League for the 2009-2010 season. Dwyer led a rebuilding team to a regular-season record of 27-20-1-2 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses). The Capitals finished third in the Roger Meek Division, and won a seven-game division semifinal series against second-place Miramichi. The Capitals were then eliminated by eventual league-champion Woodstock in a five-game division final. In 2010-2011, Dwyer returned as the teams Head Coach and Associate Director of Hockey Operations leading the team to a 36-12-1-3 record, finishing in 2nd place in the 11 team league. Under Dwyer’s guidance, the team went on to capture the KENT CUP MHL Championship with a 12-3 playoff record on the strengths of a 4-0 game sweep in the first round, a 7th game come-from-behind win in the semi-finals, followed by a 4-0 sweep in the league finals. Following the season, Dwyer was named the leagues Coach of the Year.

On May 17, 2011, Dwyer was named the head coach of the P.E.I. Rocket of the QMJHL.

In The Hockey News 2011 edition of the 100 Most Powerful people in ice hockey, Dwyer was considered one of the Top 40 under the age of 40. This recognition was attributed to his assistance in the development of Tuff 'n Lite, a unisex cut resistant protective sport socks.[2]

On April 22, 2012, Dwyer was an assistant coach with Team Canada that won a bronze medal at the 2012 IIHF Under-18 Worlds Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic.

Transactions

References

  1. ↑ About.com: The Longest NHL Suspensions
  2. ↑ The Hockey News, Volume 64, Number 14, January 17, 2011, p.25, Publisher: Caroline Andrews, Transcontinental Media

External links