Garry Valk

Garry Valk (born November 27, 1967) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player. After finishing his playing career, Valk became a television analyst.

Playing career He was selected 108th overall in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Valk had a ten-year NHL career, debuting with the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990–91 season, scoring ten goals and eleven assists for twenty-one points, while recording sixty-seven penalty minutes. Valk's strongest career year came in 1993–94, when he recorded forty-five points in seventy-eight games for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, after being selected in the NHL's expansion draft.

Arguably his best work came in the late 1990s, when he was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Valk became a player-coach that Pat Quinn depended on, fighting off opponents in crucial situations while also being an offensive threat.

Career highlights for Valk include the 1998–1999 playoffs, when he scored a key overtime goal to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Valk finished his career with a brief stint in 2003 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Post-playing career Valk retired to pursue an interest in broadcasting, and to spend time with his family. Today, Garry coaches his son's junior hockey team in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and was featured in a Canadian Business Magazine article on athletes who have gone on to be successful after their careers. He is also a Vancouver Canucks analyst on the sports news show Sportsnet Connected

In 2010, developers of a downtown Toronto condominium project enlisted the public's assistance in picking a name for the structure. Among the names submitted in the Internet poll, "Garry Valk Plaza" proved to be amongst the most popular entries.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 53 20 22 42 66 — — — — — 1985–86 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 40 20 26 46 116 — — — — — 1986–87 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 59 42 44 86 204 — — — — — 1987–88 University of North Dakota WCHA 38 23 12 35 64 — — — — — 1988–89 University of North Dakota WCHA 40 14 17 31 71 — — — — — 1989–90 University of North Dakota WCHA 43 22 17 39 92 — — — — — 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 59 10 11 21 67 5 0 0 0 20 1990–91 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 10 12 4 16 13 3 0 0 0 2 1991–92 Vancouver Canucks NHL 65 8 17 25 56 4 0 0 0 5 1992–93 Vancouver Canucks NHL 48 6 7 13 77 7 0 1 1 12 1992–93 Hamilton Canucks AHL 7 3 6 9 6 — — — — — 1993–94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 78 18 27 45 100 — — — — — 1994–95 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 36 3 6 9 34 — — — — — 1995–96 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 79 12 12 24 125 — — — — — 1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 53 7 7 14 53 — — — — — 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 17 3 4 7 25 — — — — — 1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 39 2 1 3 33 — — — — — 1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 8 21 29 53 17 3 4 7 22 1999–00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 10 14 24 44 12 1 2 3 14 2000–01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 8 18 26 46 5 1 0 1 2 2001–02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 5 10 15 28 11 1 0 1 4 2002–03 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 16 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 2002–03 Norfolk Admirals AHL 22 6 5 11 16 — — — — —NHL totals 777 100 156 256 747 61 6 7 13 79