Absurd Goalie Monday: Doug Dadswell

While a college career is often useful for some for a short time, others need a longer time. This week's AGM appeared to give the old college try for so long before the NHL came calling-- and it could have been a bad decision. He did have himself a hiccup while playing, but got back to it only to finally call it a career not long after. This week, the profile of Doug Dadswell.

Dadswell moved in and out of the Ontario Junior A and B scene, playing for the St. Michael's Buzzards, Thronhill Thunderbirds, and Pickering Panthers in Junior B and the Richmond Hill Rams in Junior A from the 1980-81 season until the 1983-84 season.

Going to the NCAA route, Dadswell played at Cornell University for the Big Red starting in the 1984-85 season, playing in 28 games and finishing with a 17-10-1 record, then a 20-7-3 record in 30 games during the 1985-86 season. Dadswell received ECAC Second All-Star Team honors and NCAA East First Team All-American during that season, as well.

Foregoing his last two years of eligibility, Dadswell signed with the Calgary Flames before the 1986-87 season, playing mostly in the AHL with the Moncton Flames, posting a 23-12-0 record in 42 games, then going 4-2 in the playoffs. Dadswell also played in two games with the Flames, going 0-1-1. During the 1987-88 season. Dadswell backed up Mike Vernon and went 8-7-2 in 26 appearances with the Flames.

However, the Flames got experience back-up Rick Wamsley for the 1988-89 season, sending Dadswell to the IHL's Salt Lake Golden Eagles and he put up a 15-10-0 record with Salt Lake and also spent time with the Indianapolis Ice, going 4-15-0 in 24 games there.

Dadswell took off the entire 1989-90 season, coming back in the 1990-91 season with the Canadian National Team were he would post a 16-6-1 record in 20 games. The 1991-92 season saw Dadswell start with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones for 24 games (14-9-1) before getting a call up to the AHL's Utica Devils for 22 games (7-9-2) and appearing in two playoff games-- both losses.

For the 1992-93 season, Dadswell returned to the Cincinnati Cyclones-- who now played in the IHL-- and going 5-11-1 before he moved to the ECHL's Birmingham Bulls for eight games with a 3-3-0 record. Dadswell returned to Calgary in the summer of 1993, but it was to play for the Roller Hockey International team, the Calgary Radz, where he would go 5-4-0 in 10 appearances before he would hang up the pads for good.

While Dadswell college accomplishments were good enough to get him into the Cornell Hall of Fame in 2000, I'm sure he'd much like to be considered for his professional career-- but it was much too short to register for some people. While he was unceremoniously shuffled out of the Flames line-up, it seemed taking time off to regroup didn't do him any favors when all was said and done.