Dale Hawerchuk - 1963 -2020. Rest in peace

[Jets 31]

This is a great idea from True North considering the f***ed up world we are in right now. Man i'm sad and pissed off right now . Thanks for posting all of these great posts @Guardian17 .

 

[Jets 31]

At least we got to see Ducky one more time as a Jet during the Heritage Classic and we have a hand picked #1 center by Ducky in Scheifele .

 

[Jets 31]

Hawerchuck was so good he made Paul Maclean and Brian Mullen first line players.

 

[backwards motion]

I don't use insta, but one of your too to pay respects:
Teemu Selanne
@TeemuSel8nne
·
6t
So sad

what a incredible human being

I’m thankful that Ducky was my friend and I had a chance to talked with him yesterday and say goodbye

this world is not same place without him,Eric you can be so proud of your dad

Thoughts love and prayers for all your family

RIP DALE

Edit: sorry for the big pictures, though they might be not be even enough big in heart. Copypasted and they came out like that. Either way, Selänne is with you guys. And mods, sorry too. If you edit this, no harm, just wanted to share.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[AlphaLackey]

He was able to live the dream of almost every Canadian boy, because unlike the rest of us he had phenomenal talent. But other than that, he never stopped being someone that you could imagine as your next door neighbour. No pretension to him at all. I think that easy connection with everyday people is why so many people are so choked up about this. He was also largely responsible for convincing the Jets to take Scheifele, so he's the gift that keeps on giving for Winnipeg, even now.

I'm 100% on board with your last line and I'll keep pounding that drum. Be honest, we ALL thought WTF? when they took Master Scheife. Boy, was Ducky vindicated in the end.

 

[Guardian17]

 

[The Blue Baron]

Nice Job Guardian.

 

[PhilJets]

RIP
Dale Hawerchuk

Only saw played live once as i was pretty young during his playing days.
It was his last year in Peg and it was against Buffalo.

He would have more accomplishments , it was just that he had to face the Titans time and time again in the Smyth division ,vs Gretzky and co....

 

[BudBundy]

Oilers fan here to pay my respects. Hawerchuk was an absolute beauty of a player (ridiculously under appreciated outside Western Canada) and, from everything I’ve ever heard, a great man off the ice as well. He is gone far, far too soon. RIP and sincere condolences to all you Winnipegers who held Dale in your hearts.

 

[PhilJets]

Hawerchuck is so good.

He lined up and took the faceoff with the gods of Hockey Gretzky and Lemiuex vs the great USSR. At a critical moment in the game.

He was probably considered at least in the top 5 of the best players in the league at that time.

 

[Bartho]

Awful news. RIP

 

[AlphaLackey]

Oilers fan here to pay my respects. Hawerchuk was an absolute beauty of a player (ridiculously under appreciated outside Western Canada) and, from everything I’ve ever heard, a great man off the ice as well. He is gone far, far too soon. RIP and sincere condolences to all you Winnipegers who held Dale in your hearts.

bless your heart for recognizing that Winnipeg had a top 5 talent in the glory days of the early 80s; he won the draw AND he hacked the Russki center coming back -- just playing by the rules presented to all teams for the first 4.99 games.

You had both Gretz and Messy; neither wanted to take the draw. Ducky, the 4th best center on that line of the four best centers in north american hockey, took it. He won it, and he "did the do" that got Lemieux open.

What a great national moment, that goal <3

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

i have two funny Ducky stories.
Growing up in Winnipeg, i never met any players unless i waited outside the Arena to get their autographs. I think i started doing that the year Dale was traded.
fast forward a few decades. I moved to Toronto. I'm working a corporate job for a grocery chain and we get this announcement that some NHL alumni will be in the cafeteria signing autographs. They read a list of players. I'm like "I bet you Ducky is one of them." no Ducky read out. i was so damn sure that Dale would be there. 5 minutes before the event, they make another announcement and, sure enough, the say "and Dale Hawerchuk." Yeah! so i go down, stand in line. think i remember Paul Coffey being one of the players. honestly, i don't get autographs. i don't get star struck. i don't give 3 shits. i just skipped all the players, went up to Dale, said "Dale, I just want to thank you for all that you did playing for the Jets. I grew up in Winnipeg as a big fan." He looked uncomfortable with someone heaping a simple amount of praise. he asked me which neighbourhood i was from, we talked for a few more seconds, and that was it. i was good.

a few years back, my wife was the photographer for a Toronto charity event. People raise money for the opportunity to play hockey with and against alumni. after day 1, she told me "some ex-Jet named Hawerchuk is there." Really?!?! you talk to him? you get any good pictures of him? no, wait. take your vintage Jets' jersey tomorrow and please ask him to sign it. i think that will be awesome.

comes back the next day and Dale signed it for it. She wears it whenever we travel(ed) to Buffalo to see the Jets play.

on a day like today, talk about only the good memories

Your wife just kills it in this story....'some ex-Jets named dale hawerchuk'....thats like saying to Christians 'yeah.. I met this guy today named Jesus...'

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

F****** good job Gaurdian17 thank you..

 

[Cacciaguida]

the world lost a hockey great today

 

[roccerfeller]

RIP Ducky

very, very sad news. So young still too.

 

[buffalowing88]

He came over to Buffalo when I was a kid and I always tried to model my play after the guy he was in a Sabres uniform. Unselfish, crafty, and smarter than anyone on the ice most of the time. I didn't get to enjoy the dynamic version of Ducky when he was on the Jets, but I will definitely be watching those highlights tonight. I don't think there's a more decent guy than Hawerchuk and I've never once heard a complaint about him from anyone. That says something for a guy who was in the league that long. He belongs to Winnipeg and I am happy you guys got to see the best of him, but know that we appreciate him dearly in Buffalo too.

 

[tntkid]

Two of my all time favorite Jets.

 

[WolfgangPuck]

So sad.
Grew up in Peg watching Ducky play
Just too young

 

[EpochLink]

Two of my all time favorite Jets.

Teemu will always be #13 to me.
Rest in paradise Dale, thanks for making this Winnipeg boy a hockey fan for life.

My dad immigrated to Winnipeg in 1972 and was a big Bobby Hull fan during the WHA years, Hawerchuk was my first fan of NHL stardom.

Never forget where you came from, I certainly have not forgotten where I fell I love with hockey.

 

[Jets 31]

Two of my all time favorite Jets.

Can you imagine how many goals and points these 2 would have put up if Hawerchuck had Selanne on his wing .

 

[Jets 31]

I'm thinking August 18 2021 should be the start of a civic holiday in Manitoba, Dale Hawerchuck day.

 

[buffalowing88]

Can you imagine how many goals and points these 2 would have put up if Hawerchuck had Selanne on his wing .

I was thinking about that after reading Selanne's response today. Hawerchuk could score, obviously, but he could set a guy up from anywhere on the ice. I can't think of a description that is apt but it is like watching a QB lead his WR in football. The QB sees where the play can go ahead of time. That's how Hawerchuk was with Mogilny and later on the PP with LaFontaine. I cannot imagine how great he was at that while in his prime in Winnipeg. Selanne could have hit 80.

 

[Edgar Halliwax]

I'm a few months older than Dale. I was playing junior hockey with the Kildonan North Stars while he was winning two memorial cups in the early 80's with the Cornwall Royals. I took time off my summer job to watch him sign with the Jets at Portage and Main just over 39 years ago. I was at the first game in which he recorded a hat trick that season. By all accounts, he was a very good man, and respected by his peers. And that matters most.

But he was an AMAZING hockey player. Had Gretzky not been in his prime, Dale would have been the best player in the league in his early 20's. Anyone on this board old enough to remember watching Dale in his prime knows exactly what I'm talking about. What incredibly sad news. I shed some tears since hearing about Dale's passing. RIP Dale.