Dane Crowley

Name: Dane Crowley
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs
Born: 1/22/87
Acquired: 2006 Entry Draft, 6th Round, 168 Overall

Junior Career
Dane Crowley began his junior career in 2003-2004 in the Saskatoon Blades organization after going undrafted in the WHL Bantam Draft. Crowley played 28 games with the Blades as a 16 year old rookie scoring 1 goal and 4 points with 28 penalty minutes and a -9 rating. The following season, Crowley's draft year, he scored 1 goal and 4 points in 52 games with a -8 rating and 101 penalty minutes. Unfortunately, Crowley went unranked by the NHL Central Scouting Service and undrafted in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The following season Crowley was traded at midseason to the Swift Current Broncos. In total, Crowley had 1 goal and 21 points in 71 games between Saskatoon and Swift Current with a -15 rating and 149 penalty minutes. The performance was sufficient to impress the Lightning who selected Crowley in the 6th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In the Fall of 2006 Crowley attended the Lightning's prospect development camp and his first Traverse City tournament with the Lightning where he had 3 assists in 4 games. Crowley earned a spot in the full Lightning training camp with his play but was returned to Swift Current in the early wave of cuts. Crowley established himself as the blueline anchor of the Broncos power play in 2006-2007 before being dealt to contending Everett at midseason. In total, Crowley scored 8 goals and 38 points between Swift Current and Everett to go with 124 penalty minutes in 62 games. Crowley also had 3 assists and 8 penalty minutes in 12 playoff matchups for the Silvertips.

Professional Career
The Lightning will wait until the Traverse City prospect tournament in the Fall before making a decision whether or not to sign Crowley for the 2007-2008 season. Given Crowley was a year overage when he was drafted, a signing would make sense but the Lightning don't face a deadline on the matter until the summer of 2008.

Talent Analysis
Pros:
Crowley has good size and mobility and has proven his toughness and mettle in the extremely physical WHL. Over the last couple of seasons he's also shown the ability to run a power play at the junior level.

Cons:
As a late bloomer, it's difficult to judge whether Crowley's recent development is a function of his advanced age and experience level in the WHL. It's also difficult to project whether Crowley will sustain his development at the next level for many of the same reasons.

Future
After flying under the radar for much of his career, Crowley's true upside isn't as easy to peg as other more scrutinized prospects. With some grooming in the Lightning's farm system it is conceivable that he could well develop into a third pairing NHL defenseman.

Statistics Courtesy hockeydb.com

Profile Created 2/21/07 by Pete Choquette