Dallas Drake

Dallas James Drake (born February 4, 1969 in Trail, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey winger in the National Hockey League who last played for the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, Drake played for the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes, and St. Louis Blues. Drake played his college hockey at Northern Michigan University.

Playing career
Dallas Drake was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, 116th overall. During his junior year at Northern Michigan, he was a key factor in the team winning the 1991 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship. In the final game, NMU teammate Darryl Plandowski scored the winning goal as the Wildcats defeated Boston University 8–7 in triple overtime. Following a stellar four-year college career, Drake made the Red Wings roster out of training camp without playing in the minor leagues. He enjoyed a fine rookie season in 1992–93, posting 44 points on 18 goals and 26 assists. The following season he was part of a trade that saw him shipped to the Winnipeg Jets along with goaltender Tim Cheveldae. The Red Wings received goaltender Bob Essensa and defenceman Sergei Bautin in return. The trade was generally a wash for the Wings, as Essensa appeared in only 13 games and was not a factor in the playoffs. Drake went on to have a successful role on the checking lines and penalty killing units of the Winnipeg/Phoenix Coyotes organization.

Drake has become known as a tenacious skater and a tough customer in the corners. Although as a pro, he's never been the goal scorer he was in college, his knowledge of the game, leadership and fierce competitiveness allowed him to skate in 1009 NHL games. Since 1992, he was sent to the minor leagues only once. In the 1993–1994 season, Drake skated one game in Adirondack on a rehab assignment, scoring two goals before returning to Detroit the following day and finishing with 10 goals and 22 assists.

Drake signed with the St. Louis Blues for the 2000–01 season, and remained with the organization for six seasons. He achieved his career high in goals with 20 during the 2002–03 season, and was named captain for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.

Drake was placed on waivers by the Blues on June 26, 2007 with the purpose of buying out his contract. On July 9, 2007, he was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Detroit Red Wings to a one-year, $550,000 contract. He had considered ending his professional career with other NHL teams, but chose to return to Detroit in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup with the club that had drafted him over 16 years prior. On June 4, 2008 those dreams were realized when Detroit defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to win their 11th franchise Stanley Cup championship. During the on ice post-game celebrations Detroit captain Nicklas Lidström passed the Stanley Cup to Drake first.

On July 15, 2008 Drake announced his retirement from the NHL. Coach Mike Babcock recently was quoted saying, "The thing that stands out in my mind is he's a family man; he was totally committed to our team. He drove us with his passion [and] his physicallity. He was a true professional, and the guys wanted to win for him. You can never replace the will of a quality, quality man and quality veteran."