Dave Babych
Dave Babych was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 23rd, 1961 and is the Hockey Player. At the age of 63, Dave Babych biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 63 years old, Dave Babych has this physical status:
David Michael Babych (born May 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He is currently an assistant director of player personnel with the Vancouver Canucks.
He played in two NHL All-Star Games and played for the Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.
He is the younger brother of former NHL player Wayne Babych.
He was the first NHL player to wear the number 44 on a permanent basis.
Personal life
Babych, who is of Ukrainian ancestry, was born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Babych had a small role in the movie Slap Shot 2.
Playing career
Babych was selected second overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets after a standout junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Babych and his brother Wayne (taken 3rd overall in 1978) were the highest-drafted pair of brothers in NHL history, with a record matched by the Sedin twins (Daniel and Henrik) and broken by Pierre and Sylvain Turgeon. During the 1980-81 season, Babych stepped right into the Jets' lineup, finishing second on the team with 38 assists and leading all Winnipeg blueliners with 44 points. In each of his first ten NHL seasons, Babych led all defenders on his squad in scoring.
Babych's first-ever NHL playoff appearance came as a player on a resurgent Winnipeg team that improved by 48 points with the addition of superstar rookie Dale Hawerchuk, who set franchise records for defensemen with 19 goals and 68 points. Serge Savard, a potential Hall of Famer, was instrumental in his growth and development, and he was hired as his partner on the blueline. 1982-83 will be a good thing, as he led the Jets with 61 assists and set a new club record for defensive scoring with 74 points. At the 1983 NHL All-Star Game, he was also voted in as a starter for the Campbell Conference.
In 1984, Babych participated in the All-Star game once more, putting in another good season, though he missed 14 games due to injury. The Jets will have their best season ever in 1984–85, finishing fourth in the NHL with 96 points, and Babych - now forming a dynamic partnership on the blueline with former Norris Trophy winner Randy Carlyle – finished third in scoring for the fifth straight season. He excelled in the 1985 playoffs, leading the team in scoring as they secured their first-ever playoff series before being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers.
Despite scoring 16 points in his first 19 games to begin the 1985–86 season, Babych was traded to the Hartford Whalers for Ray Neufeld. Neufeld's move would be a bad one for the Jets as he was never more than a depth player for them and was out of the league by 1989, when Babych continued to flourish for nearly 15 years.
Babych's stellar play in Hartford continued his good play, finishing the season with 69 points, the second-highest total of his career, and was named the team's top defender. He missed time due to sickness and finished with a career-low 41 points in 1986-87. However, he bounced back from another 50-point season last year, good for second on the Whalers in scoring. He was voted the Whalers' top defender again in 1988-89 and led the team in playoff scoring with six points in four games. He finished the year with 6 goals and 43 points, his 10th straight season over 40 points.
Babych suffered a serious wrist injury in 1990–91, requiring surgery shortly after the season's beginning, forcing him to miss 40 games. He recovered after his injury shortly after, effectively ending his campaign for the remainder of the year. He only appeared in eight games this season, with six assists.
Hartford revealed Babych in the 1991 NHL Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the Minnesota North Stars after missing nearly all of the previous season due to injury. However, Tom Kurvers was almost immediately dealt with the Vancouver Canucks.
Although Babych was no longer the front-line defender he was earlier in his career, he continued to be a reliable and valuable contributor during his seven years in Vancouver, capable of showing flashes of his former offensive ability. Babych's became the first defender in Canuck history to record a hat trick during the regular season, a feat he achieved against the Calgary Flames on November 22, 1991 (Doug Halward also scored a hat trick for the Canucks in a playoff game). He played a key role on a dramatic Canuck team that captured the championship for the first time in 17 years in 1991-92, scoring five goals and 29 points (second among Vancouver defenders, behind Jyrki Lumme). In 13 playoff games, he has also scored eight points.
In 1992-1993, injuries limited Babych to 43 games, but he bounced back in 1993-94 with 32 points, his highest score since 1990. In Game 5 of the Finals against the New York Rangers, he continued to play inspired hockey in the playoffs as Vancouver reached the Stanley Cup Finals, scoring the most goal of his career on June 9, 1994. Babych jumped into the game and buried a pass from Pavel Bure to score the game-winning goal after the Rangers came back from a 3–0 deficit to tie the match. It sparked a comeback for Vancouver, who would barely win the series in seven games.
Babych's blue line continued to sail steadily on the Canucks' blueline for another four seasons, though the team's fortunes went into decline. Babych's most notable feature was a surprising offensive revival at the start of the 1995–96 season, placing him among the top-scoring defenders in the league for the first month of the season.
The Canucks were traded Babych to the Philadelphia Flyers for a low draft pick in order to give him a chance to play for a contending team at the end of the 1997-1998 season. However, Babych's foot injury caused him to miss a slap shot soon after his arrival in Philadelphia, and the Flyers were locked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline, Babych continued to serve as a depth defender for the Flyers in 1998–99. In 41 games between Philadelphia and Los Angeles, he had two goals and eight points in his last season. In 2000, he spent a brief time in Switzerland before retiring.
In 1195 NHL games, Babych scored 142 goals and 581 assists for 723 points, as well as 970 penalty minutes. In 114 playoff games, he had 21 goals and 41 assists for 62 points.
Awards
- WHL First All-Star Team – 1980