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[28 Feb 2010|08:46pm] |
Spam, texts, e-mails, love mail, hate mail, fan mail, and anything else you need it for really.
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[28 Feb 2010|04:13pm] |
NUMBER 12
 Full Name; Derek Johnathan Daniels
Nicknames; Big D, Daniels, Danny boy, Cap,
Age & DOB; 30, June 17, 1979
Birth Place; Carstairs, Alberta
Parents; Joanne Daniels (nee Hawkins) - owns/runs a restaurant in Carstairs. Anthony Daniels - retired mechanic
Siblings; Robert, 33 - married and living in Edmonton as an accountant. Clara, 27 - engaged and living in Calgary as a music teacher.
Relationship; none worth speaking of
Children; none (so far as he knows...)
Career; Right Wing and Captain for the Calgary Flames (#12)
Lives; Calgary, Alberta
Height; 6'2"
Weight; 210 lbs
Eye Color; blue
Hair Color; brown
Defining Marks; Scars, a whole lot of them. Most prominent ones, above his left eye from a stray puck, at his hairline from a high stick, scrapes on his knuckles from fights on and off the rink. Has the number '12' tattooed on the back of his left shin from his junior days.
Eyesight; 20/20
Hearing; Pretty good, although he figures he'll be deaf by the end of his career from the fans.
Dominant Hand; Right
Disabilities; No major ones, his left knee is a bit more finicky than the other one from a series of blows during his career.
History; Born in 1980 to a humble family in the small town of Carstairs Derek's beginning was the same as most young children in the area. He was raised mostly by his grandfather while his parents worked. It was there he was introduced to hockey, although he was too young at first to realize just how important to his life the sport would be. When his third winter came around the young, energetic boy was tied into a pair of skates and pushed out onto the ice of the small community rink. While most kids his age had trouble finding their feet and spent most of their time on their back, it didn't take long for Derek to refuse his father's hand and skate around the rink on his own.
From there things only got bigger and better. When he started playing in the minor leagues he played for as goaltender, but quickly grew tired of the spot and shifted around the ice for the better part of a year before settling down in the right wing position. He played for the Kamloops Blazers for his junior career, leading them to the Memorial Cup in '94. While never regarded as the best player he was noted as being a very good player. Every year he came out of the season with highest, or very close to highest, points. He worked well with his team, being light hearted and a jokester off the ice and nothing but serious and dedicated when it was time to play.
Daniels' professional career started in 1995 when he was picked by the Dallas Stars. His time with the Stars was short as he was traded off to the Calgary Flames by the end of the year. That same season he helped lead Canada's junior team to their fourth consecutive gold medal. He was the tournament's lead scorer for that year and found himself playing with and against several future teammates.
It wasn't till the '96-'97 season that Daniels' found himself wearing the red jersey consistently. His scoring abilities found himself elevated into star status. He played with the Olympic team in 2002 and helped them land the gold medal in that year. At the start of the '03-'04 season Daniels was announced as the team captain. As if to prove that they had picked the right man Daniels helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup playoffs that year, failing only to the Tampa Bay Lightening. Since then he's been working on getting his team back to the playoffs, and has blown Fleury's franchise record of 830 points out of the water. In 2010 he was named the alternate captain for the 2010 Olympic team and gave the assist for the gold winning goal for the team.
Off the ice it's hard to relate Derek to the man he is on ice. When playing he's cool, calm and collected, finding himself in scraps here and there, but always with his game face on. Off the ice he's easy going, relaxed and down to earth, quick to makes jokes and make sure people understand he doesn't see himself as above anyone. He's a firm believer in the 'team' and prefers to concentrate on that rather than individuals. Always with a smile on his face he never passes by someone wanting an autograph or smile, happy to give back to the community that's given him such support.
As far as his personal life goes he likes to claim it's an open book as there isn't much there to hide. In 2005 he was engaged to his long time girlfriend, but broke it off nearly two months later when she moved to the other side of the country. Since then he's been seen around with several different women, but never more than once or twice. He's stated more than once that he is looking to settle down, finally, but hasn't had the time or patience to get back into the dating scene properly. Ask him if he's thinking of retirement, as he's now found himself starting to creep into the upper age bracket of the sport, and he'll laugh and tell you to get real. As long as his body can hold out and there's a place for him he'll be playing.
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