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| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Mitch Messier
Selected in
third round
No. 56 overall by Minnesota North Stars
Born
August 21, 1965
 | Position:
Center
Height: 6-2 Weight: 185
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Notre Dame (Saskatchewan Tier II)
Birthplace:
Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada)
Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1980-81 |
Notre Dame | Sask. AAA |
71 | 118 |
145 | 263 |
-- | | 1981-82 |
Notre Dame | Sask. Tier II |
26 | 8 |
20 | 28 |
-- | | 1982-83 |
Notre Dame | Sask. Tier II |
60 | 108 |
73 | 181 |
160 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Western Canada AAA Championship: 1981 (Notre Dame)
Notre Dame
(Sask. AAA) MVP: 1980-81
Notre Dame (Sask. AAA) Co-Captain:
1980-81
Saskatchewan Tier II Points Leader: 1982-83 (Notre Dame) (181)
Saskatchewan Tier II Goals Leader: 1982-83 (Notre Dame) (108)
Miscellaneous: Attended Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox,
Saskatchewan. His high school team competed at Canadian Tier II level,
although it was not officially in the SJHL at that time. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: December 19, 1987 (New Jersey at
Minnesota)
Numbers: 16, 25, 38, 22, 37 (Minnesota)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 1996 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1987-1991 |
Minnesota | 20 |
0 | 2 |
2 | 11 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
1990-91: Played two regular-season games for Minnesota team that went
to 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, but was not with team in playoffs.
Miscellaneous: Wore No. 24 in Minnesota's 1987 training camp. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Michigan State (CCHA); Kalamazoo, Milwaukee, Fort Wayne (IHL); Klagenfurt
(Austria)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
NCAA Championship: 1986
(Michigan State)
NCAA All-America West First Team:
1986-87 (Michigan State)
CCHA All-Star First Team: 1986-87
(Michigan State)
Michigan
State Assistant Captain: 1985-86 and 1986-87
Michigan
State Records: Most short-handed goals in a season (7 in 1986-87, shares
record), most games in one season with at least one point (43 in 1986-87)
Fort Wayne (IHL) Records: Most points in one playoff game (5 vs.
Cincinnati on May 4, 1994, shares record), most goals in one playoff game (4
vs. Cincinnati on May 4, 1994, shares record)
Education: Majored in
telecommunications at Michigan State.
Miscellaneous: Missed parts
of 1983-84 season with wrist injury and shoulder injury. ... Played on line
with Mike Donnelly and Scott Parker for Michigan State in 1983-84. ... Scored goal and had
two assists in Michigan State's 6-5 NCAA title-game win over Harvard on
March 29, 1986, at Providence, R.I. ... Also played right wing for Michigan
State in 1986-87 and throughout most of pro career. ... Led Michigan State with 92 points, 44 goals, eight
game-winning goals, seven shorthanded goals and 23 power-play goals in 1986-87. ...
Led all players in voting for 1986-87 CCHA All-Star team. ... Left Michigan State in 1987 with No. 5 ranking
on school's all-time points list (210). ... Missed part of 1987-88 season
with bruised knee, suffered in November 1987. ... Traded by Fort
Wayne (IHL) to Utah in August 1996, but never played for Utah because his
career was subsequently ended by a truck crash. ... Went into the
real-estate business after his retirement, working as a Re/Max Alpine Realty
agent in the Canmore/Banff, Alberta, area. ... Also coached minor hockey in
Canmore, Alberta, after his retirement.
Auto Accident Ends Career:
Messier's pro hockey career came to an abrupt end when he suffered severe
head and neck injuries in an off-season automobile accident in the early
morning hours of Aug. 23, 1996. The accident on a highway in Canmore,
Alberta, took place just two days after Messier's 33rd
birthday. Messier was traveling in a pickup truck with his brother Joby and 25-year-old former NHL player Jeff Batters, who was killed in the crash.
Also killed in the crash was 18-year-old Sherri Kalan of Red Deer, Alberta,
who was the fourth person in the car. The
Messier brothers and Batters had spent that summer
working together at the Banff International Residential Hockey School.
Batters died on impact, when he was thrown from the pickup truck, which then
rolled over and crushed him. The Messier brothers, both injured, were taken
to a hospital in Calgary. Police later said that Mitch Messier had been
driving the truck at the time of the 4 a.m. accident. Police said Messier
drove the truck on the wrong way down an access ramp to the Trans-Canada
Highway. Entering the ramp at a bad angle, the truck's right rear wheel
allegedly caught the edge of the pavement, causing it to flip. Messier
was not given a breathalyzer test and it was not determined if alcohol was
involved. His injuries, however, were severe enough to bring an end to his
hockey career.
Personal: Full name is
Mitchell Ronald Messier. ... Older brother of former NHL player Joby Messier. ...
Second cousin of NHL player Mark Messier and former NHL player Paul Messier.
... First cousin, once-removed, of former minor-league player and coach Doug
Messier. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
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