Dan Woodley

Dan Woodley (born December 29, 1967 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played briefly in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks during the 1987–88 NHL season.

Playing Career
Woodley was selected 7th overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Canucks. Blessed with size and a mean streak together with a natural goalscoring touch, he helped the Portland Winter Hawks to the 1986 Memorial Cup Finals and was considered a sure-fire NHL winger. He would turn pro in 1987–88 and have a solid season, recording 66 points in 69 IHL games and scoring 2 goals in a 5-game stint with the Canucks.

However, Woodley's career would go quickly downhill. After a poor start to the 1988–89 season in the IHL, he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens for Jose Charbonneau in an exchange of struggling prospects. He wouldn't fare any better in Montreal's system, and finished the year with just 18 goals. Following two more mediocre seasons on the farm for Montreal, he was released in 1991. At this point, he ended up in the ECHL and played four more seasons in low minor pro before retiring in 1995.

Woodley is generally considered one of the biggest NHL draft busts of the 1980s. No player drafted higher during that decade played fewer than his 5 NHL games, and he was one of only three top-10 picks (Jason Herter and Dan Gratton being the others) to play fewer than 10 NHL games. His failures were especially painful for the Canucks considering that future Hockey Hall of Fame defender Brian Leetch, who would star against Vancouver in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, was selected just 2 picks later by the New York Rangers.

Woodley currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his family. He coaches the Regis Jesuit High School varsity team. In his third year with the team, the 2007–2008 Regis Jesuit HS team posted an overall record of 20-1-1 and captured the state High School championship with a dramatic double-overtime 3–2 victory.

Awards

 * 1987-88: Ken McKenzie Trophy

Career statistics
--- Regular Season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1983-84 Portland Winter Hawks       WHL     6    1    2    3    2   8   1   3   4   4 1983-84 Summerland Buckaroos        BCJHL  54   17   34   51   31  --  --  --  --  -- 1984-85 Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    63   21   36   57  108   1   0   0   0   0 1985-86 Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    62   45   47   92  100  12   0   8   8  31 1986-87 Portland Winter Hawks       WHL    47   30   50   80   81  19  19  17  36  52 1987-88 Vancouver Canucks           NHL     5    2    0    2   17  --  --  --  --  -- 1987-88 Flint Spirits               IHL    69   29   37   66  104   9   1   3   4  26 1988-89 Sherbrooke Canadiens        AHL    30    9   16   25   69   4   1   6   7   5 1988-89 Milwaukee Admirals          IHL    30    9   12   21   48  --  --  --  --  -- 1989-90 Sherbrooke Canadiens        AHL    65   18   40   58  144  10   1   6   7  58 1990-91 Fredericton Canadiens       AHL     4    0    0    0    4  --  --  --  --  -- 1990-91 Kansas City Blades          IHL    20    6    4   10   30  --  --  --  --  -- 1990-91 Albany Choppers             IHL    31    8   17   25   36  --  --  --  --  -- 1991-92 Winston-Salem Thunderbird   ECHL   57   24   42   66  102   5   3   3   6   2 1992-93 Flint Bulldogs              CoHL   39   20   36   56  112   6   4   7  11  21 1993-94 Muskegon Fury               CoHL   58   43   58  101  217   1   0   0   0   0 1994-95 Muskegon Fury               CoHL   43   25   26   51   87  --  --  --  --  -- 1994-95 Saginaw Wheels              CoHL   11   11    4   15   18   2   1   1   2  24 --        NHL Totals                          5    2    0    2   17  --  --  --  --  --