Blues captain
By Leslie Gibson McCarthy
Photograph by Mark Buckner
If there’s a heart and soul of the St. Louis Blues, it’s team captain Dallas Drake, a lunch-pail guy who plays with guts and determination and who’s not afraid to drop the gloves. Since joining the Blues in the summer of 2000, “Dally” has seen both highs (a trip to the conference finals in 2001) and lows (the team’s failure last year to make the playoffs for the first time since 1979). It would have been easy for new owner Dave Checketts and team president John Davidson to cast him aside this offseason in a team overhaul; instead, they signed him to a two-year contract, and he keeps the “C” on his jersey. Says Davidson, “He is a character guy who gives everything he has night after night.”
So many Blues players seem to love St. Louis even after they leave here. What is it about this town? For me, it’s the people. The fans are really down-to-earth, and they have an appreciation for people who work hard. It’s fun to play in this city.
Was it frustrating that you couldn’t deliver for the fans last year? Sure, and the fans’ frustration was understandable. We weren’t very good. It was especially hard losing that playoff streak. I hope people understand that sometimes you gotta have years like that to get better.
How much has the morale changed among the players in light of all the offseason changes? Morale has changed dramatically. With the guys we got, we have a chance to get to the playoffs and compete every night. Obviously the new ownership and new management team have put us in a position to do that, and everybody’s really excited to get started.
You’re a captain and a team leader. As a young player, who were some of the veterans you looked up to? When I came into the league, with Detroit, I played with Steve Yzerman. I respected how he handled himself both on and off the ice and the way he played every night. And Al MacInnis—having a chance to play with him when I came to St. Louis was a great experience.
Where do you go for fun and relaxation? I have three young kids, and anytime I get an opportunity to go watch them play hockey or soccer or baseball, I do. I have a son and a daughter who both play hockey and a 4-year-old girl who’s just getting started in sports, too, so my wife is pretty much carting them around to their events. I go when I can. As far as going places, we like the zoo, Grant’s Farm and the Cardinals games.
If you weren’t playing hockey, what would you do? I really like to fish. I fished in Lake St. Louis a few years ago, and some of the ponds in the area. If I was good enough to be a pro fisherman, that’d be pretty neat, but I’ll never be in the same stratosphere with some of those guys you see on TV. I’ll be doing a lot of fishing when I retire.
But not anytime soon? [Laughs.] Hopefully not. I just signed a new two-year deal, and I’ll play those two years out and we’ll see what happens after that.
It’s well known that teams who win the Stanley Cup allow each player to keep the cup for an entire day. If the Blues won, where would you take the cup? Back where I was raised, British Columbia. I grew up in a real small town, on a farm. We’d probably have a little party at my parents’ farm and get all my relatives there and then take it to town, give people an opportunity to have their pictures taken with it. You hear some pretty horrific stories about what the Cup goes through. Mine wouldn’t be anything like that. I’d just like it to be around my family and have a chance to sip some alcohol out of it.
How would St. Louis react to seeing the Stanley Cup paraded down Market Street? The city would go crazy. You saw what happened when the Rams won a few years ago. The fans would come out—and there wouldn’t be much room downtown.
Dallas Drake
Height: 6-0
Weight: 195
Position: Right wing
Shoots: Left
Born: February 4, 1969
Hometown: Trail, British Columbia
Drafted: 1989, sixth round (116th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Member of the Blues since: July 1, 2000. Signed as a free agent from the Phoenix Coyotes.
