| Jim Sandlak | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1966-12-12)December 12, 1966 (age 59) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Vancouver Canucks Hartford Whalers | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 4th overall,1985 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 1985–1998 | ||
James Sandlak, Jr. (born December 12, 1966) is a Canadian former professionalice hockey player who spent 11 seasons in theNational Hockey League and was known as "the House" due to his large stature.
Sandlak playedmajor junior with theLondon Knights of theOntario Hockey League (OHL). Heading into the1985 NHL Entry Draft he was regarded as one of the top-rated players for the draft.[1] He was selected by theVancouver Canucks with the fourth overall pick; at 6'4" and 220 lbs he was chosen to address the Canucks' desire for a big scoring forward.[2] He confirmed this status with a dominant performance at the 1986World Junior Championships, at which he was the captain of the Canadian team and was named the tournament's top forward. Convinced that Sandlak was a better prospect than the slow-developingCam Neely (who played the same position and style), Canuck management decided that Neely was expendable, and dealt him to theBoston Bruins forBarry Pederson in what would later be labelled by many commentators as one of the worst trades ever made.
Sandlak had a solid rookie year in1986–87, scoring 15 goals and being selected to theNHL All-Rookie Team. After a poor training camp in 1987, he was sent to theAHL, but responded well upon his recall, scoring 16 goals in 49 games. He scored 20 goals the following season, but continued to struggle with comparisons to the superstar Neely and frustrate fans and management alike with his inconsistency. By the1990–91 season he was getting less ice time on the Canucks, scoring just 7 goals.
However, Sandlak rebounded in1991–92 to play the best hockey of his career on a rejuvenated Canuck team. Playing largely withSergio Momesso andCliff Ronning (a line dubbed the "Twin Towers" due to Ronning's small stature accentuating the size of his two larger linemates), Sandlak matched his career high of 40 points despite missing almost 20 games due to injury. In the 1992 playoffs, Sandlak finally put his game together and looked like the power forward he was always supposed to be, as he was arguably the best player in Vancouver's opening-round victory againstWinnipeg, and contributed 10 points in that playoffs while playing a dominant physical game.
However, just as Sandlak's career appeared headed in the right direction, injuries began to take their toll. His1992–93 season was plagued by back problems which caused him to miss 25 games as well as most of the playoffs, and limited him to just 10 goals. Following the season, he was dealt to theHartford Whalers as the future considerations in theMurray Craven trade. His two seasons with the Whalers were an absolute nightmare, however, as wrist, foot, knee, and heel injuries limited him to just 40 games and 8 points over that span. Released by the Whalers in 1995, he returned to Vancouver for the1995–96 season, but again struggled with injuries (this time a stress fracture to avertebra in his back) and his level of play had dropped off considerably. Following a failed tryout with Buffalo the following season he retired from the NHL, although he returned after a year off for a season in Germany before leaving the game for good.
Sandlak finished his career with totals of 110 goals and 229 points in 549 career games, along with 821 penalty minutes.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | London Knights | OHL | 68 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 143 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||
| 1984–85 | London Knights | OHL | 58 | 40 | 24 | 64 | 128 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 1985–86 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | London Knights | OHL | 16 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 36 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 | ||
| 1986–87 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 49 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 24 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 99 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1989–90 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 70 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 59 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 66 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 176 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 22 | ||
| 1992–93 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 59 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 122 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1993–94 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 27 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 33 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 12 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEU II | 18 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 549 | 110 | 119 | 229 | 821 | 33 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 30 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Canada | WJC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 1986 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 22 | |||
Sandlak was an assistant coach with theSarnia Sting of the OHL in 2007-2008.
| Preceded by | Vancouver Canucks first round draft pick 1985 | Succeeded by |