Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek was a hockey fanatic as a kid, but he quickly became a high-impact player – and after his on-ice career was over, he quickly became a highly respected force off the ice.
Since he took over the job of the Anaheim Ducks’ GM, Pat Verbeek has operated in relative silence, remaking the roster with the knowledge he’d need a few years before the team was a legitimate Stanley Cup threat.
However, some newer hockey fans might not remember what a force Verbeek was as a player – and in THN’s Nov. 15, 1991 edition, Verbeek was front and center on the cover, which asked the question, “Is This Man A Star?”
(And don’t forget, THN subscribers have access to the whole 76-year archive.)
Writer Al Morganti chronicled the quiet but driven Verbeek in the primary tale, taking readers back to his formative years in small-town Wyoming, Ontario. As a rising star, Verbeek was customarily modest, telling Morganti that before becoming a super-player, he was an avid hockey fan.
Verbeek recalled his childhood days spent watching as much hockey as possible. “Maybe it sounds corny, but I knew what I wanted to do from when I was very, very little and it was a dream come true,” he said. After that, you understand that dealing with contracts is necessary because this is both a business and a sport.
As general manager of the Ducks, Verbeek has faced off against some of his young players, such as Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.
He gained experience managing a team from his collaboration with former Detroit teammate Steve Yzerman, who ran the Tampa Bay Lightning and Red Wings. It was never all about numbers for Verbeek during his playing career, and that mentality persisted in his role as general manager.
Verbeek was included as a top-50 NHL player in the other cover story feature; he was ranked among Brian Bellows, Guy Carbonneau, Mark Recchi, and Doug Gilmour, but not nearly as high as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In the two seasons before the article, Verbeek was the only player to lead his team in both goals (44 and 43) and penalty minutes (228 and 246).
