Doug Wickenheiser: 'To me, there was no one like him. He was just the best in every way.'
Rob Vanstone, Leader-Post
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Carly Wickenheiser does not remember her father. But she still calls him Daddy.
Doug Wickenheiser's youngest of three daughters was 11/2 years old in 1999 when the Regina Pats legend died of cancer.
Now 10, Carly wants to know all about her dad. Her older sisters -- 13-year-old twins Rachel and Kaitlyn -- are equally curious. With that in mind, Dianne Wickenheiser ensures that her three children visit Regina each year.
"He was part of Carly's life for about one-10th of her life,'' says Dianne, who resides in suburban St. Louis with Carly, Kaitlyn and Rachel. "That's why it's so important for the girls to come home and be connected with his family and his environment and the people he knew and the streets he walked on and the rinks he skated on and the fields he might have played on.
"Every year, they're longing to go to his home and reconnect with that part of their lives.''
With each visit, the girls learn a little more about their father. They are well-acquainted with the details of his hockey career -- including his 89-goal, 170-point season with the 1979-80 Pats, and the Montreal Canadiens' decision to select him first overall in the 1980 NHL entry draft.
But the girls' questions generally pertain to other details -- aspects of Wickenheiser's life which are not well-known to the general public but crucial to his daughters.
"It's limitless,'' Dianne says. "They just want to know what he was like. He comes to life that much more. They want to hear the anecdotal stuff. It's a real gift that their dad is remembered. In such an unfortunate circumstance, they're able to hear about their dad and that's what they really long for -- the anecdotal, personal stories.
"They like to hear how he played with them in the backyard or what he did when they were little or how he held them in his arms or what he did on their first birthday or how he held their hands when they were walking down the street. Those things bring him to life that much more.''
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Wickenheiser routinely brought the crowds to life -- especially in the spring of 1980 when he captained Regina to its most-recent WHL title.
"Doug was an exceptional player, as everyone is aware,'' says Bob Strumm, whose first season as the Pats' general manager was Wickenheiser's 89-goal campaign. "He had it all . . . the size, the skill, and an exceptional sense for the game around him that all the great players have. He had three or four speeds and used them all effectively when he had the puck.
"He was much more competitive than people gave him credit for, and he was truly a man among boys at the time.''
Strumm noticed that even before joining the Pats. For example, there was one game in 1978-79, when Strumm was GM of the now-defunct Billings Bighorns.
"The Pats were in town,'' Strumm recalls. "It was the first time I had seen the kid everyone was talking about. He scored three times -- one using his quick wrist shot which accelerated into the net, one using his monster reach, and the other with a backhand move in front. I thought, 'Underage . . . Hmmmm, this kid is going to be great,' with some adjectives thrown in, of course.''
Strumm was able to enjoy Wickenheiser's presence to a greater degree the following winter, when Regina advanced to the Memorial Cup. That year, the CHL's championship tournament began in Brandon before moving to Regina.
"In his last game as a Pat, we clobbered the eventual champion -- Cornwall,'' Strumm says. "He was outstanding. He did it all. It was a fitting farewell.''
Wickenheiser was an easy fit with the Pats. Despite his star status, he did not consider himself to be above anyone.
"As a person, he was pleasantly shy around management, but he had a unique sense of humour that was fun to jostle with occasionally,'' Strumm says. "He was intelligent -- a good student -- and very honest in his approach to everything in life. It was a pleasure and an honour to have him in a Pats uniform.
"He had an edge to him on game days, though, and that was part of the pressure of being the best . . . being Number 1. I thought he handled it beautifully and deserved all the accolades that were bestowed upon him.''
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One such accolade was Canadian major-junior player-of-the-year honours, which he received in the spring of 1980. Shortly thereafter, Montreal drafted Wickenheiser first overall.
Wickenheiser's first two NHL seasons were frustrating experiences. He often watched games from the press box, dressing for only 41 of Montreal's 80 games as a rookie.
"It's said that it took Guy Lafleur three years to develop, but it seems they always forget that he played all the games for those three years,'' Wickenheiser said in a 1981 interview with the Leader-Post.
After being used sparingly as a sophomore, Wickenheiser emerged with the 1982-83 Canadiens, registering 25 goals and 30 assists in 78 games. However, his fortunes waned the following season, and he was traded to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 21, 1983.
Wickenheiser made quite an impression the season after being traded to St. Louis. He scored 23 goals in 68 games with the 1984-85 Blues before his season was abruptly ended by a freak accident.
During a team outing -- a rookie initiation rite known as a snipe hunt -- Wickenheiser stepped off a truck and into the path of a car, sustaining a serious knee injury.
As a player, Wickenheiser was never the same, but the aftermath of the injury typified his determination.
A relentless rehabilitation regimen enabled Wickenheiser to return to the lineup four months ahead of schedule.
Four months into his comeback, Wickenheiser scored one of the most memorable goals in Blues history -- the Monday Night Miracle -- to give St. Louis a playoff victory over the Calgary Flames.
The Blues' rally from a three-goal, third-period deficit on May 12, 1986 was capped when Wickenheiser scored in overtime to force a seventh and deciding game in the Campbell Conference final. Calgary went on to win Game 7, 2-1.
That goal was the most memorable of Wickenheiser's NHL career, which also included stints with the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. He retired with NHL regular-season totals of 111 goals and 165 assists in 556 games.
Wickenheiser settled in St. Louis, where he established two businesses -- Blue Line Nursery and Wick's Frozen Custard.
He also established a relationship. On Sept. 2, 1989, Wickenheiser and Dianne Pepple had their first date.
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The day after that date, Wickenheiser flew to Sweden for the Capitals' training camp.
"We always joked about the fact that he left the country the day after our first date,'' Dianne said in a 1999 interview.
"My dad loved the fact that I accepted a collect call from Doug right after our first date. My dad said, 'You must have really liked this guy to accept a collect call.' Dad loved it. He thought the world of Doug. He saved the phone bill and highlighted the call. It was a lot of money! I couldn't get off the phone. I was so happy to talk to him.''
Wickenheiser was happy to talk to everyone -- a trait that was quickly noted and appreciated by Dianne when the Capitals visited St. Louis to play the Blues in October of 1989.
"Doug knew all the people,'' Dianne marvelled. "Doug stopped and talked to everyone. He talked to the ushers. He was friends with everyone.
"That's what I liked about him so much. Everyone was important to him. He always had friends from all different areas. It was always very important for him to find out about everybody.
"It's hard to pinpoint just one quality that I liked about him, except that he was just so nice. He was nice to everyone. He was just a gentleman. I always liked that. He had a gracious way about him.
"Not only that, he was funny. Doug was so funny. He had the most clever sense of humour. He was bright and very smart. He had the whole package. I loved his humour, but his most outstanding quality was his kindness. For such a big, strong guy, he was so kind.''
Doug and Dianne were married on Aug. 8, 1992. Almost two years later, Kaitlin and Rachel were born. Four days later, Doug underwent surgery to remove a cyst on his left wrist.
The cyst was diagnosed as malignant, forcing Doug to be treated for bone cancer. He would be cancer-free for three years.
The cancer returned in October of 1997, when a lemon-sized tumour was found in his right lung. The news worsened in July of 1998, when cancerous lesions were found in his brain.
"The support you get from people makes it a lot easier,'' Wickenheiser told the Leader-Post in August of 1998. "When people take time to write letters and say prayers, it picks up our spirits.''
Wickenheiser's spirit never waned. He was certain that he would beat cancer.
"I really believe that it will,'' he stated. "Right now, we've had a bit of a setback, but it'll work its way out. I really believe that. The only way we can get through this is by believing and praying that the miracle is going to happen.''