Ken Daneyko

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox ice hockey player Kenneth Stephen Daneyko (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played his entire career with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), winning three Stanley Cup championships with the team. He has been nicknamed "Mr. Devil" by Devils fans, as he currently holds both the franchise record for games played as a Devil with 1,283 games and in penalty minutes with 2,516. Daneyko now provides colour analysis alongside Don La Greca during broadcasts of Devils games on MSG Sportsnet.

Early years

Daneyko was born on April 17, 1964, in Windsor, Ontario,<ref name="Name">Template:Cite news</ref> and spent his first seven years there.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the youngest of four children born into their immigrant family. His father immigrated from Germany and his mother immigrated from Ukraine.<ref name="sweetest">Template:Cite news</ref> His family moved from Windsor to Edmonton, Alberta when he was seven years old.<ref name="hhof">Template:Cite web</ref> In Edmonton, he grew up alongside future NHLer Mark Messier, who, despite being four years older than him, he described as "very influential" on his career.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Playing career

Amateur

Daneyko played Bantam AA hockey for the Great Falls Americans before being encouraged to leave Edmonton to play Junior hockey at the age of 15. He left with his father's permission without telling his mother, as she had opposed the move.<ref name="sweetest"/><ref name="sask">Template:Cite web</ref> Daneyko spent one season with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and scored one goal and 20 assists in his rookie season. After his one-year stint with the Terriers, Daneyko joined the Spokane Flyers in the Western Hockey League.<ref name="sask"/> He played 88 games for the Flyers before joining the Seattle Breakers in December 1981 when the WHL suspended the Spokane franchise.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He began to gain attention from National Hockey League (NHL) scouts while in Seattle, which rose his rankings for the 1982 NHL entry draft. While he was originally ranked 67th among all draft-eligible players in February 1982, he finished the season as one of the best prospects in junior hockey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Daneyko was subsequently drafted in the first round, 18th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 1982 NHL entry draft.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref>

Professional

Daneyko participated in the Devils' 1982 training camp before being returned to the Seattle Breakers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He scored 17 goals and 43 assists for the Breakers in the 1982-83 season. Although his points total pleased the Devils' coaching staff, they were concerned about the quality of coaching he would receive if he returned to the Breakers for his final year of junior hockey. Their concerns were so serious that Devils General Manager and coach Billy MacMillan considered keeping Daneyko at the NHL level rather than returning him. However, following his trade to the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL, the Devils felt comfortable reassigning him if necessary.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the Devils 1983 training camp, Daneyko was paired with veteran defenceman Phil Russell<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and they remained together to start the 1983–84 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He subsequently made his NHL debut on October 6 against the New York Rangers,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and scored his first NHL goal on October 30 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the end of October, he ranked sixth in rookie scoring with five points through 11 games.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he fractured his fibula during a game against the Hartford Whalers in early November and missed over two months of game play. Once he recovered in February, he was reassigned to the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL for the remainder of the season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon rejoining the Kamloops Junior Oilers, Daneyko helped the team qualify for the 1984 Memorial Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Daneyko was reassigned to the Devils American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Maine Mariners, to start the 1984-85 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He later described his season in Maine as beneficial for his overall development, stating: "I learned a lot about the mental aspects of the game and kept developing physically. I play a physical game and I sometimes got caught out of position a lot. Now I know they want me to move the puck as quickly as possible."<ref name="shapes">Template:Cite news</ref>

During the 1985 offseason, Daneyko joined Paul Messier in West Germany and spent a month attending the training camp of Adler Mannheim.<ref name="shapes"/> He also participated in four exhibition games with Mannheim. However, as he did not receive permission to do so from the Devils organisation or the NHL, he was suspended for one game and fined $500.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After serving his suspension, Daneyko played in only one game for the Devils before being demoted to the AHL on November 9.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Daneyko finished the regular season with no goals and 10 assists. He signed a two-year contract extension with the Devils on June 6, 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Ken Daneyko circa 2005-2006.jpg
Daneyko circa 2005/2006

On March 29, 1994, Daneyko's ironman streak ended due to a shoulder injury. At the time of the injury, Daneyko held the record as the NHL's longest active ironman with 388 consecutive games.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Daneyko played in his 800th career NHL game on October 18, 1996, against the Hartford Whalers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This moved him into second place on the Devils' all-time games played list, behind John MacLean.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

While Daneyko began the 1997–98 season with the Devils, his play was affected by personal issues.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After missing three games due to these issues, Daneyko went public with his alcoholism problem in early November.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He became the first player to voluntarily enter the NHL's voluntary Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program and subsequently missed 45 games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although he had been released from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Clinic at the end of December, Daneyko trained privately with the team's trainers until February 3. He officially returned to the Devils lineup on February 25 for their game against the Florida Panthers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Daneyko won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2000 in recognition of his "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."<ref name="Masterton">Template:Cite news</ref>

Along with Scott Stevens, he was part of a Devils defensive core that won the Stanley Cup three times, in 1995, 2000 and 2003. From the team's first playoff game while in New Jersey, in 1988, Daneyko played in every playoff game until game four of the 2003 quarterfinals. He also was scratched in the first six games of the 2003 finals, but, looking for a spark, coach Pat Burns inserted Daneyko into the lineup for game seven, replacing Oleg Tverdovsky. Daneyko took the ice for the final shift of the Devils' game seven victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, which clinched their third Stanley Cup victory, in 2003.Template:Cn

Post-playing career

File:New Jersey Devils retired numbers 27 3 4 in Feb 2013.jpg
Daneyko's No. 3 hanging in between Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 and Scott Stevens' No. 4 at the Prudential Center

Following his retirement, Daneyko joined the Devils' broadcasts on MSGSN as a studio analyst. He spent eight years in this role before being promoted to the Devils' in-game analyst in September 2014.<ref name="MSG">Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy and honours

The Devils retired his uniform number on March 24, 2006. He was the second Devil to receive the honour, after Scott Stevens, although both were retired in the same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2009, Daneyko began competing as a pairs figure skater on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reality show Battle of the Blades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010, Daneyko portrayed himself in the short film Ice Hockey, written and directed by Larry Cohen. The film also featured Randy Velischek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2016, Daneyko was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame.Template:Cn

Personal life

Daneyko has two children; a daughter and a son.<ref name="MSG"/>

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Yorkton Terriers SJHL 60 2 24 26 102 — — — — —
1979–80 Great Falls Americans WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1980–81 St. Albert Saints AJHL 1 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
1980–81 Spokane Flyers WHL 62 6 13 19 140 4 0 0 0 0
1981–82 St. Albert Saints AJHL 1 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1981–82 Spokane Flyers WHL 26 1 11 12 147 — — — — —
1981–82 Seattle Breakers WHL 38 1 22 23 151 10 1 9 10 42
1982–83 Seattle Breakers WHL 69 17 43 60 150 4 1 3 4 14
1983–84 Kamloops Junior Oilers WHL 19 6 28 34 52 17 4 9 13 28
1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 11 1 4 5 17 — — — — —
1983–84 Kamloops Junior Oilers MC — — — — — 4 2 2 4 10
1984–85 Maine Mariners AHL 80 4 9 13 206 11 1 3 4 36
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 10 — — — — —
1985–86 Maine Mariners AHL 21 3 2 5 75 — — — — —
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 44 0 10 10 100 — — — — —
1986–87 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 2 12 14 183 — — — — —
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 5 7 12 239 20 1 6 7 83
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 5 5 10 283 — — — — —
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 6 15 21 216 6 2 0 2 21
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 4 16 20 249 7 0 1 1 10
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 1 7 8 170 7 0 3 3 16
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 84 2 11 13 236 5 0 0 0 8
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 1 9 10 176 20 0 1 1 45
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 25 1 2 3 54 20 1 0 1 22
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 2 4 6 115 — — — — —
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 2 7 9 70 10 0 0 0 28
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 37 0 1 1 57 6 0 1 1 10
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 2 9 11 63 7 0 0 0 8
1999–2000 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 0 6 6 98 23 1 2 3 14
2000–01 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 0 4 4 87 25 0 3 3 21
2001–02 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 0 6 6 60 6 0 0 0 8
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 2 7 9 33 13 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 1,283 36 142 178 2,516 175 5 17 22 296

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1986 Canada WC 7 0 0 0 0
1989 Canada WC 8 0 0 0 4
Senior totals 15 0 0 0 4

Awards and honours

Award Year Ref
National Hockey League
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy 2000 <ref name="Masterton"/>

See also

References

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