David Ellett

David George John Ellett (born March 30, 1964) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for 20 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 in the 1982 NHL entry draft and then played the next two seasons at Bowling Green State University. 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 and Calgary Flames. 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 during the 1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On April 10, at the Winnipeg Arena, with the game tied at 2–2 in the second overtime period, Dave 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 with Paul Fenton for Ed Olczyk 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 and 1994 that reached the Conference Finals.

Ellett was traded to the New Jersey Devils with Doug Gilmour in the 1996–97 season, but only played with the club until the end of the season. He then played with the Boston Bruins for two years and then the St. Louis Blues for a year before retiring. He played his 1000th career game with Boston on March 1, 1998, against the New York Islanders. 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. 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's most-remembered goals. In Game 7 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals between the Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky scored a hat trick. He scored his third goal from behind the net by banking it off Ellett's skate and past the Toronto goaltender, Félix Potvin. 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.

Awards and honours Award Year All-CCHA Second Team 1983-84 CCHA All-Tournament Team 1984 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1984 NHL All-Star Game 1989, 1992

Records Most points by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman in a playoff year (18 in 1994) Most assists by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman in a playoff year (15 in 1994)

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1981–82 Ottawa Jr. Senators CJHL 50 9 35 44 — — — — — — 1982–83 Bowling Green Falcons CCHA 40 4 13 17 34 — — — — — 1983–84 Bowling Green Falcons CCHA 43 15 39 54 96 — — — — — 1984–85 Winnipeg Jets NHL 80 11 27 38 85 8 1 5 6 4 1985–86 Winnipeg Jets NHL 80 15 31 46 96 3 0 1 1 0 1986–87 Winnipeg Jets NHL 78 13 31 44 53 10 0 8 8 2 1987–88 Winnipeg Jets NHL 68 13 45 58 106 5 1 2 3 10 1988–89 Winnipeg Jets NHL 75 22 34 56 62 — — — — — 1989–90 Winnipeg Jets NHL 77 17 29 46 96 7 2 0 2 6 1990–91 Winnipeg Jets NHL 17 4 7 11 6 — — — — — 1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 60 8 30 38 69 — — — — — 1991–92 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 79 18 33 51 95 — — — — — 1992–93 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 6 34 40 46 21 4 8 12 8 1993–94 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 68 7 36 43 42 18 3 15 18 31 1994–95 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 33 5 10 15 26 7 0 2 2 0 1995–96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 3 19 22 59 6 0 0 0 4 1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 56 4 10 14 34 — — — — — 1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 20 2 5 7 6 10 0 3 3 10 1997–98 Boston Bruins NHL 82 3 20 23 67 6 0 1 1 6 1998–99 Boston Bruins NHL 54 0 6 6 25 8 0 0 0 4 1999–2000 St. Louis Blues NHL 52 2 8 10 12 7 0 1 1 2 NHL totals 1,129 153 415 568 985 116 11 46 57 87

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1989 Canada WC 10 4 2 6 14