Veteran St. Louis Blues Centre Dave Scatchard retires due to concussion problems –NHL News Update
After playing 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a number of different teams over that timeframe, veteran centre player for St. Louis Blues, Dave Scatchard resigned from the major league on Monday, August 22, in an update from his account
on social networking website, Twitter.
Having played with Vancouver Canucks, New York Islander, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and finally St. Louis Blues, along with a number of minor league teams, Scatchard faced concussion related problems last season and managed to play
only eight games with Blues last season and picking up a single assist.
It was according to advice on behalf of his doctor that playing hockey would only create more problems, instead of making them better.
"After a long week of tests at the Mayo Clinic, Dr.'s have advised me that playing hockey is not an option for me any longer. Wouldn't be safe", Scatchard tweeted via Twitter.
Drafted as the 42nd overall pick during round-two of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver Canucks, the Hinton, Alberta, Canada native, strove to establish his name in the major league and at one time did have a great stretch, especially with
New York Islanders where he had two 45 point seasons in which he finished both off with 100 plus penalty points.
After five impressive seasons with New York, Scatchard went downhill from there and has not played a regular season since. Having played over 650 major league games and boasting a record of 269 points (128 goals, 141 assists), Dave Scatchard does not leave
the NHL empty handed, but something he will always miss, are the fans.
“Thank you to everyone who cheered for me over the last 30 years plus 14 years of pro hockey. Has been an amazing journey and I loved every minute of it”, Scatchard added.
Now with all that extra time, Scatchard hopes to spend every minute of it with his three loving children and wife, who he has not been able to give much time due to one of the most demanding careers in the world.
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