Dennis Vial

Dennis Vial
Born	(1969-04-10) April 10, 1969 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Ottawa Senators Sheffield Steelers
NHL draft	110th overall, 1988 New York Rangers
Playing career	1989–2005

Dennis Vial (born April 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Vial played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators. He also played in the North American minor leagues and European leagues. He played defence and was known for his toughness.

Career

After playing with the Hamilton Steelhawks in the OHL for 3 years, Vial was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 6th round, 110th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. That year he went back to the OHL and played with the Niagara Falls Thunder, followed by a year with the Flint Spirits in the IHL for the 1989–1990 season, scoring 35 points in 79 games and registering 351 penalty minutes. Throughout this time Vial established himself as a hard hitting enforcer and defenceman and got the call up midway through the 1990–1991 season to join the Rangers. He played in 21 games before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings that same season, appearing in another 9 games. Vial then split the next two seasons between the Red Wings and the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL.

Prior to the 1993–1994 season Vial was traded from the Red Wings to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was left unprotected in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and was picked up by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim a few weeks later. Finally, in Phase II of the Expansion draft Vial was picked up by the Ottawa Senators, with whom he made his greatest NHL impact. With a Senators' lineup scarce in talent, Vial was able to make the team and play full-time, and in 1993-94 he was given the team's Frank Finnigan Award as its most improved player. He led the Senators in penalty minutes, major penalties, and fighting majors. Known as a fearless combatant, Vial's time in Ottawa was highlighted by a long, intense, and often bloody feud with Rob Ray of the divisional rival Buffalo Sabres.

However, Vial's aggressive and all-out playing style resulted in many injuries throughout his career and he played in at least half of the games in a season only twice. His last season in the NHL was 1997–1998.

For the next seven seasons Vial played with a number of minor league teams including two years in England in the BISL. He retired following the 2004–2005 season where he played in the UHL with the Missouri River Otters and Richmond Riverdogs.

Vial remained the Ottawa Senators' all-time penalty minutes leader until being surpassed by Chris Neil.

British Ice Hockey League Brawl/Suspension

In 2001, while a member of the British Ice Hockey League's Sheffield Steelers, Vial incited a much publicized brawl against the Nottingham Panthers which resulted in the league handing out several suspensions totaling 28 games and fines worth £8,400 ($18,750). Vial was suspended for six games and fined £750 ($1,675 Cdn) for numerous offences, including instigating the brawl by cross-checking Nottingham's Greg Hadden, and squirting water at fans in the stands.

Britain's Press Association described the event, which escalated into a 36-man bench clearing brawl, as "one of the worst scenes of violence ever seen at a British ice hockey rink."

Other

Vial currently resides just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. Vial is the brother-in-law of former player Norm Batherson and the uncle of professional ice hockey player Drake Batherson.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Hamilton Kilty B's	GHL		27	11	7	18	215		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Hamilton Steelhawks	OHL		31	1	1	2	66		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Hamilton Steelhawks	OHL		53	1	8	9	194		8	0	0	0	8
1987–88	Hamilton Steelhawks	OHL		52	3	17	20	229		13	2	2	4	49
1988–89	Niagara Falls Thunder	OHL		50	10	27	37	230		15	1	7	8	44
1989–90	Flint Spirits	IHL		79	6	29	35	351		4	0	0	0	10
1990–91	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		40	2	7	9	250		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	New York Rangers	NHL		21	0	0	0	61		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		9	0	0	0	16		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		20	2	4	6	107		17	1	3	4	43
1991–92	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		27	1	0	1	72		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		30	2	11	13	177		11	1	1	2	14
1992–93	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		9	0	1	1	20		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Ottawa Senators	NHL		55	2	5	7	214		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Ottawa Senators	NHL		27	0	4	4	65		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Ottawa Senators	NHL		64	1	4	5	276		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Ottawa Senators	NHL		11	0	1	1	25		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Chicago Wolves	IHL		24	1	3	4	86		1	0	0	0	2
1997–98	Ottawa Senators	NHL		19	0	0	0	45		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Chicago Wolves	IHL		55	1	4	5	213		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		26	2	5	7	82		7	0	1	1	10
2000–01	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		42	3	7	10	171		8	0	2	2	20
2001–02	Columbia Inferno	ECHL		68	8	11	19	137		5	0	0	0	4
2002–03	Columbia Inferno	ECHL		69	3	15	18	158		17	0	1	1	27
2002–03	Verdun Dragons	QSPHL		2	1	0	1	7		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Columbia Inferno	ECHL		54	5	15	20	101		4	0	0	0	20
2004–05	Missouri River Otters	UHL		46	0	4	4	66		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Richmond Riverdogs	UHL		29	1	7	8	19		—	—	—	—	—
IHL totals				158	8	36	44	650		5	0	0	0	12
NHL totals				242	4	15	19	794		—	—	—	—	—
ECHL totals				191	16	41	57	396		26	0	1	1	51

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database