Dan Frawley

You always had to respect Dan Frawley.

The native of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario was an average-at-best skater. His ability with the puck was not great, whether it came to shooting or passing. His vision and anticipation were not exactly strong points either.

No, but Dan Frawley did enjoy a lengthy professional career including 273 NHL games all because of desire. He was the hardest working player on every team he played. It was an infectious attitude that he brought to every game.

He contributed tangibly mostly through his physical play. Though not big by any stretch of the imagination (6'0" and 170lbs) he was always willing to mix it up and cause commotion with his reckless abandon. In doing so, he often freed up ice for more talented players.

In doing so Frawley could have served a nice role on a strong team. Instead he played most of his career in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Those teams were largely a one-man show as Mario Lemieux carried that team on his back. Frawley was never properly utilized as an energy player excelling in just a few a minutes a night.