1984 Off-Season

1984 Entry Draft

The 1984 PHL entry draft was not a particularly strong one, but there were some very good players available. After much speculation about who Toronto would take number 1, the Racers settled on talented winger Patrick Farmer, a London ON native who grew up cheering for the Racers. Edmonton took equally talented center Hugh Patton second while Quebec took American winger Brad Soto third. The Vancouver Bighorns took the first defenseman in the draft, Shane Swanson, while the New York Civics selected the first European player in franchise history, Swedish forward Kjell Dahlman.

1.      Toronto – Patrick Farmer, F, CAN

2.      Edmonton – Hugh Patton, F, CAN

3.      Quebec – Brad Soto, F, USA

4.      Vancouver – Shane Swanson, D, CAN

5.      New York – Kjell Dahlman, F, SWE

6.      Minnesota – Caleb Weaver, D, CAN

7.      Detroit – Jari Vainio, D, FIN

8.      Calgary – Dwayne Brewer, F, USA

9.      Montreal – Gilbert Gagnon, F, CAN

10.   Boston – Kevin Rhodes, F, CAN

11.   Dallas – Jesse Collier, D, CAN

12.   Winnipeg – Mike Fox, F, USA

13.   Seattle – Denis Poirier, F, CAN

14.   Long Island – Thomas Lundberg, F, SWE

15.   California – Bryan Harrington, D, USA

16.   Ottawa – Adam Cox, D, USA;

17.   Philadelphia – Kevin Mitchell, F, USA

18.   Washington – Jeremy Hampton, D, CAN

19.   Denver – Ray Sutton, D, CAN

20.   Chicago – Patrik Blomqvist, D, SWE

21.   LA – Clark Saunders, F, USA

22.   Nova Scotia – Josh Griffith, F, CAN

23.   Pittsburgh – Owen Lindsay, D, CAN

24.   St. Louis – Jake Harrison, G, CAN

Phenom Alert:

Fifteen-year-old Vincent Ducharme of Drummondville, Quebec will not be eligible for the PHL draft until 1986, but he is already making a name for himself as he enters his rookie season in the Quebec Junior league. Ducharme scored an incredible 123 goals in his final season of midget hockey in Quebec. PHL scouts are already labeling him as the “Next One”. Even beyond Ducharme, scouts say the 1986 draft could be the strongest in PHL history.

Notable Retirements:

Ray Fowler, F, LA, 1971-1984

The most stunning news of the 1984 off-season was when LA superstar Ray Fowler announced his retirement. After suffering from severe concussion problems during the latter years of his career, Fowler missed a large part of the 1983-84 season. One of the best playmakers in PHL history, Ray Fowler’s brilliant chemistry with future legend Stuart Holly brought the Wizards three consecutive Lewis Cups in the late 1970s.

Gilbert Houle, F, MTL, 1964-1984

For twenty years, Gilbert Houle was a franchise player in Montreal. Playing alongside legends like Guy Dupont, Rogier Leflamme, and Emmett Hudson, Houle helped lead the Royale to Lewis Cups title in 1966 and ’68. Houle retired as the all-time leading scorer in Royale history.

Gary Crawford, D, DET, 1966-1984

Gary Crawford played a very important depth role on the Mustangs’ blueline during their dynasty in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Crawford won the Lewis Cup with the Mustangs four times in 1969, ’70, ’73, and ’74.

Transactions

Dave Tobin signs with Philadelphia.

After spending 15 seasons in New York, Tobin was released by the Civics on June 6 and signed with the Redshirts a few days later.

LA trades F Roy Priest to Quebec in exchange for 1^st round pick in 1985 entry draft.

LA begins a mini rebuild following Ray Fowler’s retirement, dealing long-time enforcer Priest to the Nationale, who feel they’ve been “pushed around” too much.

News

The drama surrounding the Dallas Metros continued into the summer of 1984 despite their appearance in the playoffs. Finally, on June 20, Del West stated he was growing tired of losing significant amounts of money on the Metros and that he would be actively looking to sell the team. West immediately received an offer from Jerry Drum, a multimillionaire from Milwaukee. “I’m intrigued by the offer but I’ll wait and see if a buyer steps up here in Dallas” said West.

In other news, league president Alan Garcia was approached by a potential ownership group from Kansas City about possible expansion. While Garcia maintained that the league is not currently looking to expand, he did meet with the group and stated that he was “significantly impressed” with their proposal.