Gary Dornhoefer
Encyclopedia
Gerhardt Otto Dornhofer (born February 2, 1943), better known as Gary Dornhoefer, is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey
player, known for winning two Stanley Cup
s with the Philadelphia Flyers
of the National Hockey League
in 1973-74, and 1974-75.
of the Ontario Hockey Association
, Dornhoefer made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins
in the 1964 season, playing in 32 games, scoring twelve goals and ten assists. After that promising start, he was little used by Boston thereafter and spend most of the next three seasons in the minor leagues, principally with the Hershey Bears
of the American Hockey League
.
. The Philadelphia Flyers selected him with the 13th pick overall, and he would never play with another team.
In that first year with Philadelphia, Dornhoefer scored 13 goals and 43 points while accumulating 134 penalty minutes and gaining a reputation as a hard hitting, grinding left winger with a touch for scoring. Two seasons later he reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time, a mark he would achieve in five seasons. In 1973 he had his best season, scoring 30 goals and 49 assists for 79 points and being named to play in the All-Star Game. The most famous play of his career came in the 1973 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored a crucial overtime goal against the Minnesota North Stars
on a solo rush. The goal was memorialized on a statue at the Spectrum, which was demolished in 2010-11. Plans are for the Spectrum statues to be installed in a new retail, restaurant and entertainment complex to be built on a nearby site.
Although hampered by injuries throughout his career in consequence of his bruising style, Dornhoefer remained an effective scorer through his penultimate season, and was named to play in the All-Star Game again in 1977 after finishing the regular season with a +47 plus/minus mark. The season thereafter, missing nearly half the season through injury, his scoring touch disappeared completely, and he retired after the 1978 playoffs.
Dornhoefer played in 787 games over 14 seasons, scoring 214 goals and 328 assists for 542 points, adding 1291 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement he was second only to Bobby Clarke
as the team's all time leading scorer, and still ranks tenth in that category. His eleven seasons with Philadelphia are surpassed only by Clarke, Bill Barber
and Rick MacLeish
, and on a team iconic for its brawling ways, Dornhoefer is eighth in franchise penalty minutes.
, Canada
to work on Hockey Night In Canada
as a color commentator from 1978 – 1986. After a six year hiatus from broadcasting, Dornhoefer moved back to Philadelphia in 1992 and joined the Flyers broadcast team, originally working with play-by-play man Gene Hart. He served as a Flyers' color analyst
through the 2005–06 NHL season and is now one of the team's Ambassadors of Hockey.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player, known for winning two Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s with the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
in 1973-74, and 1974-75.
Playing career
After playing his junior hockey with the Niagara Falls FlyersNiagara Falls Flyers
----The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982....
of the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
, Dornhoefer made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
in the 1964 season, playing in 32 games, scoring twelve goals and ten assists. After that promising start, he was little used by Boston thereafter and spend most of the next three seasons in the minor leagues, principally with the Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
.
Philadelphia Flyers
Dornhoefer was left unprotected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft1967 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars,...
. The Philadelphia Flyers selected him with the 13th pick overall, and he would never play with another team.
In that first year with Philadelphia, Dornhoefer scored 13 goals and 43 points while accumulating 134 penalty minutes and gaining a reputation as a hard hitting, grinding left winger with a touch for scoring. Two seasons later he reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time, a mark he would achieve in five seasons. In 1973 he had his best season, scoring 30 goals and 49 assists for 79 points and being named to play in the All-Star Game. The most famous play of his career came in the 1973 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored a crucial overtime goal against the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
on a solo rush. The goal was memorialized on a statue at the Spectrum, which was demolished in 2010-11. Plans are for the Spectrum statues to be installed in a new retail, restaurant and entertainment complex to be built on a nearby site.
Although hampered by injuries throughout his career in consequence of his bruising style, Dornhoefer remained an effective scorer through his penultimate season, and was named to play in the All-Star Game again in 1977 after finishing the regular season with a +47 plus/minus mark. The season thereafter, missing nearly half the season through injury, his scoring touch disappeared completely, and he retired after the 1978 playoffs.
Dornhoefer played in 787 games over 14 seasons, scoring 214 goals and 328 assists for 542 points, adding 1291 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement he was second only to Bobby Clarke
Bobby Clarke
Robert Earle Clarke, OC , better known as Bobby Clarke or, in later life, Bob Clarke, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team...
as the team's all time leading scorer, and still ranks tenth in that category. His eleven seasons with Philadelphia are surpassed only by Clarke, Bill Barber
Bill Barber
William Charles Barber is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League . As part of the famed LCB line, Barber helped lead the Flyers to the franchise's two Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975...
and Rick MacLeish
Rick MacLeish
Richard George MacLeish is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings...
, and on a team iconic for its brawling ways, Dornhoefer is eighth in franchise penalty minutes.
Retirement
After his retirement following the 1977–1978 season, Dornhoefer moved to broadcasting. He worked a short time in Philadelphia locally, then moved back to his native OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to work on Hockey Night In Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
as a color commentator from 1978 – 1986. After a six year hiatus from broadcasting, Dornhoefer moved back to Philadelphia in 1992 and joined the Flyers broadcast team, originally working with play-by-play man Gene Hart. He served as a Flyers' color analyst
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
through the 2005–06 NHL season and is now one of the team's Ambassadors of Hockey.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1961–62 | Niagara Falls Flyers Niagara Falls Flyers ----The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982.... |
OHA Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada.... |
50 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 121 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 15 | ||
| 1962–63 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 38 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 58 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 56 | ||
| 1962–63 | Niagara Falls Flyers | M-Cup 1963 Memorial Cup The 1963 Memorial Cup final was the 45th junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada competed against the Abbott Cup champions Edmonton Oil Kings... |
— | — | — | — | — | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 33 | ||
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
32 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Minneapolis Bruins Minneapolis Bruins The Minneapolis Bruins were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League from 1963 to 1965. Minneapolis operated as a farm team to the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins. The team originated as the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League, which... |
CPHL | 39 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | San Francisco Seals | WHL Western Hockey League (minor pro) The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League... |
37 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 1965–66 AHL season The 1965–66 AHL season was the 30th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The league played a limited interlocking schedule with the Western Hockey League which was repeated two seasons later. The Quebec Aces finished first overall in the regular... |
Hershey Bears Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
54 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 56 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 1966–67 1966–67 AHL season The 1966–67 AHL season was the 31st season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Pittsburgh Hornets finished first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship since being resurrected in 1961–62... |
Hershey Bears | AHL | 71 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 110 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1967–68 | Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 65 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 134 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 1968–69 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 60 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 1969–70 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 65 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 57 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 183 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 77 | 30 | 49 | 79 | 168 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 57 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 125 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 43 | ||
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 102 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 33 | ||
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 74 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 128 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 43 | ||
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 85 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | ||
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 47 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| NHL totals | 787 | 214 | 328 | 542 | 1291 | 80 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 203 | ||||