|
View: Previous | Next
|
| 1980 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Ric Nattress
Selected in second round
No.
27 overall by
Montreal Canadiens
Born May 25, 1962
 | Position:
Defense
Height: 6-2 Weight: 210
|
|
| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Brantford (OMJHL)
Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
Hometown:
Hamilton, Ontario |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1978-79 |
Hamilton | Ont. AAA |
40 | 21 |
28 | 49 |
76 | | 1979-80 |
Brantford | OMJHL |
65 | 3 |
21 | 24 |
94 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Was Brantford's seventh-round pick,
No. 79 overall, in 1979 OMJHL priority selection. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 6, 1982 (Hartford at
Montreal)
Numbers: 3 (Montreal); 27 (St. Louis); 6
(Calgary); 2 (Toronto);
5 (Philadelphia)
Stanley Cup: 1989.
Playing Status: Retired October 8, 1993 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP | PIM |
| 1982-1993 | MTL, STL, CGY, TOR, PHI |
536 | 29 |
135 | 164 |
377 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams | GP |
G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1983-1991 | Montreal, St. Louis, Calgary |
67 | 5 | 10 |
15 | 60 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Missed start of 1983-84 season while serving suspension for
drug-related offense. ... Missed part of 1983-84 season with broken
finger, an injury suffered in March 1984. ... Missed part of 1985-86 season
with shoulder injury, suffered during St. Louis' March 17, 1986, game at
Minnesota. ... Missed part of 1986-87 season with strained knee, an injury
suffered in February 1987. ... Missed parts of 1987-88 season with back
injury, suffered during Calgary's Jan. 13, 1988, game at Edmonton, bruised
right shoulder, an injury suffered in March 1988, and knee injury that
required arthroscopic surgery in March 1988. ... Missed part of 1988 playoffs
with re-aggravation of back injury. ... Missed parts of 1988-89 season with
pulled hamstring, an injury suffered in November 1988, and with groin injury,
suffered in February 1989. ... Missed parts of 1989-90 season with bruised
hand, an injury suffered during Calgary's Dec. 10, 1989, game at Washington,
and with broken right ankle, an injury suffered when he slipped on ice while
walking home from a Flames team banquet on Feb. 7, 1990. ... Missed start of
1990-91 season with torn knee cartilage, an injury that required surgery on
Sept. 27, 1990. ... Missed part of 1991-92 season with torn cartilage in left
knee, suffered during Calgary's Oct. 22, 1991, game at Minnesota. The
injury required arthroscopic surgery on Nov. 4, 1991. ... Missed part of
1991-92 season with bruised left foot, an injury suffered during Calgary's
Dec. 21, 1991, game at Winnipeg. ... Signed four-year, $1.9 milllion contract
with Philadelphia as unrestricted free agent on Aug. 21, 1992. ... Missed
start of 1992-93 season with strained lower back, an injury suffered during
Philadelphia's 1992 training camp. He did not play his first game until Dec.
3, 1992. ... Missed parts of 1992-93 season with sinus infection, diagnosed on
March 2, 1993, and with bruised left leg, an injury suffered during
Philadelphia's March 11, 1993, game vs. Washington. ... Missed remainder of
1992-93 season with bruised left knee, an injury suffered during
Philadelphia's March 21, 1993, game vs. New Jersey. ... Attended
Philadelphia's 1993 training camp and played in two preseason games, but
retired due to injuries with three years left on his Flyers contract, which
was bought out by the team.
Nattress' Suspension:
Nattress got in trouble with the law on Aug. 25, 1982, when he was arrested
for possessing three grams of marijuana and one gram on hashish in Brantford,
Ontario. An undercover narcotics officer had seen Nattress smoking pot as he
got into his car. Evidence presented against Nattress in a subsequent August
1983 trial in Brantford revealed that Nattress had a history of drug use
dating back to his early teens. He was fined $150 for the conviction in the
Brantford court, but the impact on his NHL career was far more dramatic.
Cracking down on the drug-related offense, NHL president John Ziegler
suspended Nattress for the entire 1983-84 season, a decision announced in
September 1983. In his initial ruling, Ziegler had left room for Nattress'
suspension to be reduced if the Canadiens formally requested it between Game
Nos. 20 and 25, and if Nattress did not get in any trouble that might
embarrass the league. Nattress was also allowed to continue practicing,
traveling to road games and assisting the team's coaching staff while suspended. The suspension was later reduced to the first 30 games of the 1983-84 season,
enabling Nattress to return to play his first game of the season at Pittsburgh
on Dec. 11, 1983. The entire incident was reminiscent of punishment given to
NHL player Don Murdoch for his cocaine-possession offense six years earlier.
Murdoch's suspension, also originally set for an entire season, had been reduced to 40
games. The NHL wanted to make an example of Nattress, even though his offense
was less severe than Murdoch's, to make a point that all drug offenses would be severely punished. Critics
of the suspension argued that Nattress was charged with the offense
before playing his first NHL game, and was therefore not representing the
league in any way when he broke the law. However, he had already played for
Montreal's AHL team, and had clearly embarrassed the organization. Ziegler agreed that Nattress was an NHL representative
because he had signed a contract with Montreal two years before the arrest and
was therefore accountable for behavior expected of an NHL player. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Brantford (OMJHL); Nova
Scotia (AHL); Sherbrooke (AHL)
World Championships: 1991 (silver
medal)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
AHL Calder Cup: 1985 (Sherbrooke)
Coaching Career: Named Hamilton (AHL)
assistant coach prior to 1996-97 season and remained in position through
1997-98 season.
Miscellaneous: Gained first pro
experience when called up to Nova Scotia for 1982 AHL playoffs. ... Was on Calgary team
that joined Washington for 1989 NHL Friendship Tour in Soviet Union. ...
Played on St. Louis' off-season charity softball team. ... Active in
charitable causes during his playing days, including work with Canadian Kidney
Foundation and Special Olympics. ... Became active in Oldtimers' charity
hockey after his retirement. ... Founded hockey school for defensemen after
his retirement.
Personal:
Nicknamed "Stash." ... Full name is Eric James Nattress. ... Father
of Canadian junior player Justin Nattress. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| RIGHTS SOLD: Montreal sold Nattress' rights to
St. Louis
as part of June 15, 1985, draft-day trade in which Montreal dealt Mark Hunter,
Mike Dark, 1985 second-round pick (Herb Raglan), 1985 third-round pick (Nelson
Emerson), 1985 fifth-round pick (Dan Brooks), 1985 sixth-round pick (Rick
Burchill) and future considerations
to St. Louis in exchange for 1985 first-round pick (Jose Charbonneau), 1985
second-round pick (Todd Richards), 1985 fourth-round pick (Martin Desjardins),
1985 fifth-round pick (Tom Sagissor) and 1985 sixth-round pick (Donald
Dufresne). As the future considerations portion of the 1985 draft-day deal,
Nattress was sold to St. Louis on October 7, 1985. |
|
|
Visit the new
Hockey Draft Central |
HockeyDraftCentral.com is in the middle of rebuilding. You are looking at a page
that is not yet updated but is still part of the old site. Check out the new look.
• New Home Page
|
|
SNAPSHOT '80 | | Total Selected: |
210 | | Forwards: |
122 | | Defense: |
71 | | Goaltenders: |
17 | | Major Junior: |
138 | | Tier II Junior: |
7 | | College Players: |
42 | | High School: |
8 |
| Canadian: |
159 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
35 | | U.S.-Born: |
35 |
| European: |
13 |
| Reached NHL: |
132 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
24 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
17 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
5 |
| Olympians: |
19 |
| Picks Traded: |
25 |
|
|
