David Ellett

David Ellett
Born	(1964-03-30) March 30, 1964 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman (former)
Years active	1984–2000
Known for	NHL player for Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues

David George John Ellett (born March 30, 1964) is a former professional ice hockey defenseman, Canadian by nationality but born in the United States, who competed for 16 seasons in the NHL. His birthplace was Cleveland, where his father was active in minor-league hockey at the time. Ellett was selected 75th overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets and spent two seasons playing collegiate hockey at Bowling Green State University, capturing the NCAA Championship in 1984.

Playing career

Ellett began his NHL tenure with the Winnipeg Jets in 1984, quickly establishing himself as a dependable defenseman by tallying 38 points and achieving a +20 rating on the plus/minus scale. Throughout the mid to late 1980s, he formed part of a formidable Jets lineup; however, their playoff accomplishments were constrained due to fierce divisional rivals such as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

One of Ellett’s standout achievements with Winnipeg occurred during the 1990 Smythe Division semi-finals versus Edmonton, where he netted a crucial power-play goal in double overtime that propelled the Jets to a 3–1 advantage in the series. This goal remains celebrated as one of the franchise’s most iconic moments.

During the 1990–91 season, Ellett was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. There, he developed into a trustworthy two-way defenseman and contributed significantly to Toronto’s deep postseason campaigns in both 1993 and 1994, reaching the Conference Finals on each occasion.

Ellett was dealt to the New Jersey Devils partway through the 1996–97 season but only stayed through its conclusion. Subsequently, he played two seasons with the Boston Bruins followed by one season with the St. Louis Blues before retiring in 2000. He marked his 1000th NHL appearance while with Boston on March 1, 1998.

On the international stage, Ellett sparked debate in 1989 when he opted to represent Team Canada despite his American birth and participation in Team USA’s training camp for the 1987 Canada Cup. Nonetheless, his eligibility for Canada was valid since he had never played internationally for the United States.

Ellett was also linked to a memorable event during Game 7 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals when Wayne Gretzky scored a hat trick goal off Ellett’s skate. Despite that, Ellett found the net late in that game for Toronto, although Los Angeles ultimately advanced to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-CCHA Second Team	1983-84
CCHA All-Tournament Team	1984
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	1984
NHL All-Star Game	1989, 1992

Records

• Highest point total by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman during a single playoff season (18 points in 1994)
• Most assists recorded by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman in one playoff year (15 assists in 1994)

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981–82	Ottawa Jr. Senators	CJHL		50	9	35	44	—		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Bowling Green Falcons	CCHA		40	4	13	17	34		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Bowling Green Falcons	CCHA		43	15	39	54	96		—	—	—	—

1984–85	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	80	11	27	38	85	8	1	5	6	4
1985–86	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	80	15	31	46	96	3	0	1	1	0
1986–87	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	78	13	31	44	53	10	0	8	8	2
1987–88	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	68	13	45	58	106	5	1	2	3	10
1988–89	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	75	22	34	56	62
1989–90 NHL season	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	77	17	29	46	96	7	2	0	2	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1990–91 NHL season	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	17	4	7	11	6	—	—	—	—	-	1990–91	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	60	8	30	38	69	—	—	—	—	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1991–92 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	79	18	33	51	95	—	—	—	—	-	1992–93 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	70	6	34	40	46	21	4	8	12	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1993–94 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	68	7	36	43	42	18	3	15	18	-	1994–95 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	33	5	10	15	26	7	0	2	2	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1995–96 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	80	3	19	22	59	6	0	0	0	-	1996–97 NHL season	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	56	4	10	14	34	—	—	—	—	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1996–97	New Jersey Devils	NHL	20	2	5	7	6	10	0	3	3	-	1997–98 NHL season|| Boston Bruins|| NHL|| 82|| 3|| 20|| 23|| 67|| 6|| 0|| 1|| 1|| 6 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	1998–99 NHL season|| Boston Bruins|| NHL|| 54|| 0|| 6|| 6|| 25|| 8|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 4 |- || 1999–2000 NHL season|| St. Louis Blues|| NHL|| 52|| 2|| 8|| 10|| 12|| 7|| 0|| 1|| 1|| 2 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"	Career NHL totals !1,129 !153 !415 !568 !985 !116 !11 !46 !57 !87 | } International Year Team Tournament   Games Played Goals Assists Points Penalty Minutes 1989 Canada WC 10 4 2 6 14 See also List of NHL players with 1,000 games played External links Hockey Draft Central