See I told you that I wasn't only going to focus on terrible 1st round picks in this series.
This edition features a former 4th rounder from 1993.
Eric Daze is now 44 years old and last played in the NHL in 2005-06.
Over 8+ seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Daze scored 226 goals (398 points) over 601 games. It's too bad that that's all he had as his career was cut short from back injuries.
This one might not be a "random" as Daze was a real good player for a lot of years in Chicago, but I wanted to cover him and it's my blog... so there.
Let's take a look Daze's career in a snapshot:
Eric Daze's "One More Shift" was also in January 2018, check it out:
How did the player join the Blackhawks organization?
As mentioned above, Daze was drafted in 1993 (90th overall). Good thing GM Bob Pulford and his scouts snagged Daze in the 4th round because the rest of the draft was horrendous:
Yikes.
Where were the Blackhawks at this time?
The Blackhawks we a solid team around 1993. They were coming off a first-round defeat to the St. Louis Blues in the spring of 1993. However, in the previous to that loss, the Hawks made at least the conference finals 3 out of the 4 seasons with the most notable being the 1992-93 Stanley Cup finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This was the Hawks era led by Chelios, Roenick, and Belfour and finished with a 47-25-12 (106 points) record, which was good for 1st in NHL Norris Division
Why this player stood out for me?
Daze was a big, big guy who could score, what's not to like?
Daze also stood out for me as I was at a very influential age when he was drafted. He entered the scene in 1994-95 and played 4 regular-season games and 16 playoffs game as the Hawks went to the Conference Finals again that year.
In 1995-96, Daze finished as the runner-up, edged out barely by Daniel Alfredsson for the Calder Trophy.
It was a great time to be a Blackhawks fan and by adding Daze into the fold everything was looking up in Chicago… well until they traded Roenick… and Belfour… and Chelios.
We all know the pain of those upcoming years in Chicago, so we don't need to relive it.
Daze was, on most nights, the only bright light during those rough years as he went on to average 28 goals per year between 1995-2003.
Where is the player now?
Well, according to Wikipedia, Daze is married to Guylaine, whom he met during his high school years. The couple have two children and the family resides in Hinsdale, Illinois.
As mentioned above, Daze's career was cut short due to back injuries, which is too bad. He was a great Blackhawk and really stuck it out during some tough times in Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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