Dennis Vial

Dennis Vial (born April 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Vial played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators. He also played in the North American minor leagues and European leagues. He played defence and was known for his toughness.

Career After playing with the Hamilton Steelhawks in the OHL for 3 years, Vial was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 6th round, 110th overall in the 1988 NHL entry draft. That year he went back to the OHL and played with the Niagara Falls Thunder, followed by a year with the Flint Spirits in the IHL for the 1989–1990 season, scoring 35 points in 79 games and registering 351 penalty minutes. Throughout this time Vial established himself as a hard hitting enforcer and defenceman. He got the call up midway through the 1990–1991 season to join the Rangers. He played in 21 games before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings that same season, appearing in another 9 games. Vial then split the next two seasons between the Red Wings and the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL.

Prior to the 1993–1994 season Vial was traded from the Red Wings to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was left unprotected in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and was picked up by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim a few weeks later. Finally, in Phase II of the Expansion draft Vial was picked up by the Ottawa Senators, with whom he made his greatest NHL impact. With a Senators' lineup scarce in talent, Vial was able to make the team and play full-time, and in 1993-94 he was given the team's Frank Finnigan Award as its most improved player. He led the Senators in penalty minutes, major penalties, and fighting majors. Known as a fearless combatant, Vial's time in Ottawa was highlighted by a long, intense, and often bloody feud with Rob Ray of the divisional rival Buffalo Sabres.

However, Vial's aggressive and all-out playing style resulted in many injuries throughout his career and he played in at least half of the games in a season only twice. His last season in the NHL was 1997–1998.

For the next seven seasons Vial played with a number of minor league teams including two years in England in the BISL. He retired following the 2004–2005 season where he played in the UHL with the Missouri River Otters and Richmond Riverdogs.

Vial remained the Ottawa Senators' all-time penalty minutes leader until being surpassed by Chris Neil. Vial was suspended for six games and fined £750 ($1,675 Cdn) for numerous offences, including instigating the brawl by cross-checking Nottingham's Greg Hadden, and squirting water at fans in the stands.

Britain's Press Association described the event, which escalated into a 36-man bench clearing brawl, as "one of the worst scenes of violence ever seen at a British ice hockey rink."

Other Vial currently resides just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. and the uncle of professional ice hockey players Drake Batherson and Mae Batherson.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1985–86 Hamilton Kilty B's GHL 27 11 7 18 215 — — — — — 1985–86 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 31 1 1 2 66 — — — — — 1986–87 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 53 1 8 9 194 8 0 0 0 8 1987–88 Hamilton Steelhawks OHL 52 3 17 20 229 13 2 2 4 49 1988–89 Niagara Falls Thunder OHL 50 10 27 37 230 15 1 7 8 44 1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 79 6 29 35 351 4 0 0 0 10 1990–91 Binghamton Rangers AHL 40 2 7 9 250 — — — — — 1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 21 0 0 0 61 — — — — — 1990–91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 9 0 0 0 16 — — — — — 1991–92 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 20 2 4 6 107 17 1 3 4 43 1991–92 Detroit Red Wings NHL 27 1 0 1 72 — — — — — 1992–93 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 30 2 11 13 177 11 1 1 2 14 1992–93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 9 0 1 1 20 — — — — — 1993–94 Ottawa Senators NHL 55 2 5 7 214 — — — — — 1994–95 Ottawa Senators NHL 27 0 4 4 65 — — — — — 1995–96 Ottawa Senators NHL 64 1 4 5 276 — — — — — 1996–97 Ottawa Senators NHL 11 0 1 1 25 — — — — — 1997–98 Chicago Wolves IHL 24 1 3 4 86 1 0 0 0 2 1997–98 Ottawa Senators NHL 19 0 0 0 45 — — — — — 1998–99 Chicago Wolves IHL 55 1 4 5 213 — — — — — 1999–00 Sheffield Steelers BISL 26 2 5 7 82 7 0 1 1 10 2000–01 Sheffield Steelers BISL 42 3 7 10 171 8 0 2 2 20 2001–02 Columbia Inferno ECHL 68 8 11 19 137 5 0 0 0 4 2002–03 Columbia Inferno ECHL 69 3 15 18 158 17 0 1 1 27 2002–03 Verdun Dragons QSPHL 2 1 0 1 7 — — — — — 2003–04 Columbia Inferno ECHL 54 5 15 20 101 4 0 0 0 20 2004–05 Missouri River Otters UHL 46 0 4 4 66 — — — — — 2004–05 Richmond Riverdogs UHL 29 1 7 8 19 — — — — — IHL totals 158 8 36 44 650 5 0 0 0 12 NHL totals 242 4 15 19 794 — — — — — ECHL totals 191 16 41 57 396 26 0 1 1 51