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| Robert Dirk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1966-08-20)August 20, 1966 (age 59) Regina,Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | St. Louis Blues Vancouver Canucks Chicago Blackhawks Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Montreal Canadiens | ||
| NHL draft | 53rd overall,1984 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 1986–1997 | ||
Robert Michael Dirk (born August 20, 1966) is aCanadian former professionalice hockey player. Dirk played in theNational Hockey League between 1987 and 1996.
Dirk was born inRegina, Saskatchewan. He was selected 54th overall in the1984 NHL Entry Draft by theSt. Louis Blues. He would turn pro in 1986 and spend the next five seasons bouncing between the NHL club and thePeoria Rivermen, the BluesIHL affiliate. He would finally stick on the Blues roster full-time in1990–91, appearing in 41 games before being moved to theVancouver Canucks in a 6-player deal at the trade deadline.
Dirk would find a home on an up-and-coming Vancouver team. While his skating and skill level were limited, he was a big, bruising defensive defender well thought of for his heart and grit. He appeared in a career-high 72 games in1991–92, recording 2 goals and 9 points along with 126 penalty minutes. In1992–93, he set career bests with 12 points and 150 penalty minutes in 69 games. He spent his third full season with the Canucks in1993–94, but the acquisition ofJeff Brown andBret Hedican in a deal with St. Louis left Vancouver with too many bodies on defence, and he was dispatched to theChicago Blackhawks for a draft pick at the trade deadline.
After only 6 games for Chicago, Dirk was moved again, this time to theMighty Ducks of Anaheim, for the1994–95 campaign. After a season and a half with the Ducks, he was dealt to theMontreal Canadiens in 1996. However, he would fracture his shoulder in his debut for Montreal and was never able to establish himself, appearing in only 3 games for the team.
Released by the Habs following the1995–96 season, Dirk spent a year in the IHL before retiring and moving into coaching. He finished his career with 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points in 402 career games, along with 786 penalty minutes.
On his retirement as a player in 1997, Dirk accepted a head coaching job in theUHL with theWinston-Salem Icehawks. He would spend three seasons in the UHL, one in Winston-Salem before joining theSaginaw Gears for two more years. He spent the 2000–2002 seasons with theWCHLTacoma Sabercats, before being hired as the first head coach of theTexas Wildcatters of theECHL.
Following his release from the Wildcatters in 2005, Dirk remained inBeaumont, Texas to take a job as the director of theMontagne Center, the home venue of the athletic squads forLamar University. He then traveled to and from Houston, Texas to coach his son's bantam AA team. He was the coach for the Penticton Lakers Junior B team in the KIJHL, but has now moved on to coach various teams at theOkanagan Hockey Academy for players 14-18.[1]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | Notre Dame Hounds | SMHL | 23 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Kelowna Buckaroos | BCJHL | 27 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 43 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 34 | ||
| 1982–83 | Regina Pats | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Regina Pats | WHL | 62 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 64 | 23 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 24 | ||
| 1984–85 | Regina Pats | WHL | 69 | 10 | 34 | 44 | 97 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1985–86 | Regina Pats | WHL | 72 | 19 | 60 | 79 | 140 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 1986–87 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 76 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 54 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 37 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 128 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 41 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 1991–92 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 126 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 1992–93 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 69 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 150 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 65 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 1994–95 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 38 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 44 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 48 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 31 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 402 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 772 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 56 | ||||