Dion Phaneuf
Dion Phaneuf (born
April 10,
1985 in
Edmonton,
Alberta,
Canada) is a professional
Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He is the son of Paul and Amber Phaneuf and has one younger brother, Dane.
Dion Phaneuf was drafted ninth overall in the
2003 NHL Entry Draft by the
Calgary Flames and completed a highly successful run in the Western Hockey League for the Red Deer Rebels in the spring of
2005. Phaneuf is regarded as a potential franchise
defenceman in the
NHL.
Phaneuf was named to the
CHL First All-Star team for the 2003-04 and 2004-5 seasons, selected from the WHL,
OHL, and
QMJHL. In
2004 he picked up the
Bill Hunter Trophy for Top Defenseman and was named to
WHL East First All-Star Team. His unrelenting defensive-minded play and his bone-crushing bodychecks have led many to compare him to veteran defenseman
Scott Stevens of the
New Jersey Devils. In February of 2005
The Hockey News publication named him the number two prospect in the world behind
Russian Alexander Ovechkin.
Known for his huge physical presence on the blueline, Phaneuf represented Canada at the
2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in
Helsinki,
Finland. The team won silver in a heartbreaking defeat to the
American junior team. Despite their loss, Phaneuf was named to the Tournament All Star Team. The following year Phaneuf returned to the
2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in
Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Canadians took gold for the first time in eight years. Phaneuf was again awarded a spot on the Tournament All-Star Team, and was named Top Defenseman of the tournament.
Rookie Season
Phaneuf made his NHL debut on the opening night of the
2005-06 NHL season for the Flames on
October 5,
2005 in a 6-3 loss to
Minnesota. He recorded his first point, first assist and first goal in the
October 10, 2005 game against the
Colorado Avalanche and was for the first time named the game's 1st star in a game versus
Vancouver on
November 7, 2005, recording 1 goal and 2 assists.
In the month of November,
2005, Phaneuf led in scoring among rookie defensemen with 3 goals and 6 assists. This achievement earned him the top rookie spot for the month of November as recognized by the NHL. Hockey's Future listed him as their
#3 prospect behind
Ovechkin and
Sidney Crosby and said that he would likely win the
James Norris Memorial Trophy at some point in his career. [
1] On April 13, 2006 he became only the third rookie defenceman (along with
Brian Leetch and
Barry Beck) to score 20 goals in a season. As well, he broke the Calgary Flames' team record for goals by a rookie defenceman which was 18 by
Gary Suter. It is especially noteworthy that while many elite NHL forwards tend to flourish early in their careers, due to their speed and dexterity, defensemen usually only come into fruition in their mid- to late-twenties, since they often require more time to build up the stamina to dominate a game physically, play more than 25 mintues a game, and quarterback (ie: effectively distribute the puck during) a
power play. (Since
1980, only five defensemen,
Ray Bourque,
Gary Suter,
Brian Leetch,
Bryan Berard and
Barret Jackman have won the
Calder Trophy for best NHL rookie.)
Despite a solid regular season, Phaneuf faltered early in the ensuing playoff run, and was blamed by many for his team's early exit. In seven games against the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Phaneuf finished with one goal and had a plus minus rating of -8. He failed to be a productive force on the point on the powerplay as he had been during the regular season. He was obviously outplayed by his rookie counterpart,
Francois Beauchemin of Anaheim, and Phaneuf can be held directly responsible for at least a couple of Anaheim's goals in the series. There was some speculation that such an uncharacteristic performance may have been caused by an undisclosed injury. This suspicion was confirmed by Flames coach and general manager
Darryl Sutter after the conclusion of the series when he stated that Phaneuf played the series hurt and likely only at 60% health; he was playing with a broken bone in his foot sustained in the final regular season game against Anaheim.
*
CHL First All-Star Team (2004)
*
Bill Hunter Trophy (2004)
*NHL Rookie of the Month, November 2005
| | | Regular Season | | Playoffs |
|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|
| 2001-02 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 67 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 170 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2002-03 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 71 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 185 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
| 2003-04 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 62 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 126 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 30 |
| 2004-05 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 55 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 2005-06 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 81 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| NHL Totals | 81 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Stats as of May 3, 2006.Played for
Canada in:
*
2004 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
*
2005 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | | GP | G | A | Pts! PIM |
|---|
| 2004 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 29 |
| 2005 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
| Senior Int'l Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0! 0 |
|---|
*
ESPN.com*
Hockey DB*
Hockey's Future*
SI.com*
Player Profile at tsn.ca*
Yahoo Sports*
Calgary Flames
