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| 1984 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Clark Donatelli
Selected in fifth
round
No. 98 overall by New York Rangers
Born
November 22, 1965
 | Position:
Left Wing
Height: 5-10 Weight: 180
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Stratford (Ontario Junior B)
Birthplace:
Providence, Rhode Island (USA)
Hometown: North Providence, Rhode
Island |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1980-81 |
Moses Brown | R.I. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1981-82 |
Moses Brown | R.I. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1982-83 |
Moses Brown | R.I. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1983-84 |
Stratford | Jr. B |
38 | 41 |
49 | 90 |
46 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Junior Championships:
1984 (sixth place)
Stratford MVP: 1983-84
Stratford Rookie of Year: 1983-84
Miscellaneous: Attended Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I., before
going to Canada for 1983-84 season. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 5, 1989 (N.Y. Islanders at
Minnesota)
Numbers: 16 (Minnesota); 50
(Boston)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 1996 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1989-1992 |
Minnesota, Boston | 35 |
3 | 4 |
7 | 39 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1992 | Boston | 2 |
0 | 0 |
0 | 0 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Traded by N.Y. Rangers to Edmonton during his junior season
in college, but never played in Oilers organization. ... Signed with Boston as unrestricted free
agent on March 10, 1992, after competing in 1992 Olympics in Albertville,
France.
A Season out of Hockey: Donatelli sat out the entire 1988-89
season because of a dispute with Edmonton and a refusal to sign with the
Oilers, who held his rights when he ended his amateur career with the 1988
U.S. Olympic team. Donatelli's lawyer, John Harwood, argued that the Oilers
did not control the player's rights because Edmonton had not offered him a
contract in compliance with the league deadline for doing so. Harwood said
the Oilers were well aware of Donatelli's desire to enter the NHL
immediately after the 1988 Olympics rather than go back to Boston University
for another year, because he had stated as much in a July 1987 letter to the
team. Harwood said he had sent a contract proposal to Edmonton in August
1987, which meant that under the CBA rules, Edmonton would have to respond
within 30 days. Harwood said the Oilers never responded, so Donatelli
assumed he would be an unrestricted free agent when the Olympics ended. The
Oilers and the NHL countered that Edmonton did not have to respond to the
August 1987 letter because a copy of it hadn't been filed with the NHL's
Central Registry Office. Edmonton then said that it retained Donatelli's
rights through the 1987-88 season and had even offered him a pro contract
prior to the Feb. 12, 1988, deadline for signing players. The Oilers
believed Harwood was trying to find an excuse to prevent Donatelli from
having to go to Edmonton and instead put him on the open market. NHL
president John Ziegler said if Donatelli wanted unrestricted free agency, he
would have to sit out the 1988-89 season. Donatelli also had the option of
taking Edmonton to arbitration in order to get a better contract offer, but
Oilers general manager Glen Sather aggravated the situation when he
questioned Donatelli's skill level during an interview. An angry Donatelli
opted not to sign, choosing to take both parties to court while gaining
indisputable free agency by sitting out the entire 1988-89 season. In March
1988, Harwood sued the NHL and the Oilers. The NHL appealed the ruling, and
the case got tangled in the Rhode Island court system. Donatelli, meanwhile,
hired Bob Goodenow to represent him in negotiations with other teams.
Because he was already represented by a certified NHLPA agent, Donatelli
could not go back and play hockey at Boston University. He also couldn't go
to Europe, because Edmonton would have controlled his rights for at least
another season if he chose to do that. He spent the 1988-89 school year
working for his father's construction company in Providence and finally became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 1989.
He signed a three-year deal with Minnesota on July 12, 1989. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Boston University (HE); Team USA; Kalamazoo, San Diego (IHL); Providence (AHL);
Los Angeles, Detroit (IHL)
Olympics: 1988 (seventh place), 1992
(fourth place)
World Championships: 1985
(fourth), 1986 (sixth), 1987 (seventh)
World Junior Championships: 1985
(sixth place)
InLine Hockey: San Diego (RHI)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Hockey East
All-Star Second Team: 1985-86 (Boston University)
Hockey East
All-Rookie Team: 1984-85 (Boston University)
Team USA Olympic
Captain: 1992
Education: Majored in business at
Boston University.
Miscellaneous: Wore No. 17 at
Boston University and on 1988 U.S. Olympic team. ... Competed at U.S.
Olympic Festival in 1985, 1986 and 1987. ... Played on line with John Cullen and Ed Lowney for
Boston University in 1985-86. ... Left Boston University after his junior
year to join U.S. Olympic team for 1987-88 pre-OIympic tour and 1988
Olympics. ... Rejoined Team USA for the 1991-92 pre-Olympic tour and 1992
Olympics after spending previous two seasons in NHL and IHL. ... Played for
San Diego (RHI, InLine league) in 1994. ... Returned to Rhode Island and
went to work as an executive in his father's construction business, Shire
Corporation, after his retirement. ... Also coached youth hockey in Rhode
Island after his retirement.
Personal: Full name is John Clark Donatelli.
... Older brother of former college player Peter Donatelli. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
N.Y. Rangers traded Donatelli, Reijo Ruotsalainen, Ville Kentala, and Jim
Wiemer to Edmonton in exchange for Mike Golden, Don Jackson, Miroslav Horava,
and future considerations (Stu Kulak) on October 23, 1986. Kulak was sent to
N.Y. Rangers to complete the deal on March 10, 1987. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '84 | | Total Selected: |
250 | | Forwards: |
142 | | Defense: |
88 | | Goaltenders: |
20 | | Major Junior: |
110 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
16/9 | | College Players: |
23 | | High School: |
47 | | Midget: |
4 | | U.S. Junior B: |
1 |
| Canadian: |
145 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
2 | | USA Citizens: |
62 | | U.S.-Born: |
63 |
| European: |
41 |
| Reached NHL: |
102 |
| Stanley Cup: |
20 | | Hall of Fame: |
1 |
| All-Star Game: |
18 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
31 |
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