Harold Druken (born January 26, 1979) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was drafted 36th overall in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. He played for the Canucks,

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

during his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) career, and also played professionally in Switzerland for

EHC Basel EHC Basel known as Eishockey Club Basel are a professional Swiss ice hockey team. They are based out of the St. Jakob Arena in Basel, Switzerland. EHC Basel was founded on October 14, 1932. Were promoted to the Nationalliga A for 2005–06 af ...

. Druken spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues with the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliates of the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes.

Playing career

Druken played high school hockey in the US for Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, MA. Druken enjoyed a prolific three-year

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) career, spent with the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Plymouth Whalers The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, USA, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated to Flint, Michigan. History The Whalers ...

franchise, during which time he was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and OHL Second All-Star Team in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. His most productive season in the OHL was a 58-goal, 103-point effort in 1998–99, which was good for seventh in league scoring. He represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1999 WJC'') was held in Winnipeg, and five other communities in Manitoba, Canada from December 26, 1998 to January 5, 1999. In the gold medal match at Winnipeg Arena, Russia defeated Canada 3–2 ...

, where he won a silver medal and became lifelong friends with

Roberto Luongo Roberto Luongo (, , ; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is a two ...

. Druken was drafted by the

36th overall in the

following his OHL rookie season. He turned professional in 1999–2000 and split the season between the Canucks and their

(AHL) affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

. He scored 45 points in 47 games with the Crunch, earning him AHL All-Rookie honours, while also appearing in 33 games for Vancouver, scoring 7 goals. The following season, Druken spent time with the Canucks' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the

Kansas City Blades The Kansas City Blades were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1990 until 2001, when the league folded. The Blades were based in Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena. Team history Russ and Diane Pa ...

, but spent the majority of the campaign with the Canucks, a season in which he appeared in an NHL career-high 55 games and scored 15 goals and 30 points, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on December 8, 2000, against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. Druken ended a 13-goal scoring drought late in the season when he scored two goals in a crucial game on April 6, 2001, against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. He scored his second goal of the game just outside the lip of the crease to beat

Félix Potvin Félix "The Cat" Potvin (born June 23, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Early career As a youth, Potvin played in the 1983 and 1984 Quebec International Pe ...

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

, secure a 3–2 win and a Canucks' Stanley Cup playoff berth for the first time in five years. The Canucks finished the season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference and were swept in the opening round by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. Druken contributed one assist in the series, the only NHL playoff appearance of his career. Following Druken's breakout 30-point campaign of the previous season, he suffered an ankle injury on November 30, 2001, in a game against Colorado and missed the majority of the 2001–02 season. As a result, Druken appeared in just 27 games for the Canucks, scoring 8 points. He was also sent down during the season to the Canucks' new AHL affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

, for 11 games, in which he produced at a point-per-game pace with two goals and nine assists. The injury seemingly derailed Druken's NHL career as he was subsequently bounced around the NHL for the next several seasons in a series of transactions. On November 1, 2002, he was traded to the

(along with forward

Jan Hlaváč Jan Hlaváč (born September 19, 1976) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HC Stadion Vrchlabí in CZE.3. Playing career Hlaváč has played at the National Hockey League level for the New York Rangers, Phil ...

) in exchange for defenceman

Marek Malík Marek Malík (born June 24, 1975) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1994 to 2009. Playing career After playing with TJ Vitkovice Jr. in the Czech junior league, Malík was dr ...

and forward

Darren Langdon Darren Michael Langdon (born January 8, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Undrafted, he signed his first professional contract in 1993 with the New York Rangers. After retiring from the NHL, Langdon coached a fo ...

. On December 11, 2002, he was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes, after which he was picked up by the

. A month later, he was waived once again and was re-acquired by the Hurricanes on January 17, 2003. Druken played the remainder of the season for the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

, then was traded back to the Maple Leafs in the off-season on May 29, 2003, in exchange for defenceman Allan Rourke. With the exception of nine games with the Maple Leafs in 2003–04, Druken spent the rest of his North American professional career in the minor leagues with the

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

with 51- and 38-point seasons in 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively. In 2005–06, Druken went overseas to Switzerland to play for

of the Nationalliga A, but appeared in only 18 games, registering 10 points.

Awards and achievements

OHL OHL or Ohl may refer to: Initialisms *Latvian Hockey Higher League, known in Latvian as the ''Optibet hokeja līga'' *Oberste Heeresleitung, the Supreme Army Command of Germany in World War I *Obrascón Huarte Lain, a Spanish construction company * ...

All-Rookie Team (

) * OHL Second All-Star Team (

) * WJC Silver Medal (

) * AHL All-Rookie Team (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Druken, Harold 1979 births Living people Carolina Hurricanes players Detroit Whalers players EHC Basel players Ice hockey people from Newfoundland and Labrador Kansas City Blades players Lowell Lock Monsters players Manitoba Moose players Plymouth Whalers players Sportspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's Maple Leafs players Syracuse Crunch players Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players Canadian ice hockey centres