Rick Dorman was, whether the league liked it or not, what
the North American Hockey League was all about. He could score, 17 goals in his
lone NAHL season, but it was his league leading 238 penalty minutes in 1976-77
that defined Dorman’s game. A junior with the Flin Flon Bombers, a team that
Bobby Clarke made famous, Dorman played pro through the 1984-85 season but got
his start in the NAHL.
Rick Dorman – NAHL
Rick played his first pro season, 1976-77, in the NAHL with
the Johnstown Jets and Erie Blades.
As it was the last season of the league’s existence, it was Dorman’s only year
in the NAHL. He started out with the Jets but appeared in just nine games. His
offensive numbers were decent with two goals and four assists for six points.
Rick sat 44 PIM in those nine games.
Dorman moved on to the Erie Blades and played 52 regular
season games with the club. He scored 15 and assisted on eleven for 26 points
while sitting 194 minutes in penalties. The Nick Polano
coached Blades reached the Lockhart Cup semi-finals before falling in five
games to the Syracuse
Blazers. In the playoffs, Rick added four assists over nine games and sat
an additional 48 minutes in the box. It’s no surprise that he led Erie in PIM
for both the regular season and playoffs.
Rick Dorman – WCHL
Dorman played two years in the WCHL (present day WHL),
1974-75 and 1975-76. In his first season, he played exclusively with the Flin
Flon Bombers. Over 67 games, he scored 16 and assisted on 23 while sitting a
whopping 442 minutes in penalties. He place second in the league to Jerry
Rollins, a player that started out the season with the Bombers before moving to
Winnipeg.
In his second season, Rick played a combined 60 regular
season games with the Bombers and Winnipeg Clubs. He scored 11 and assisted on
23 with a total of 346 PIM. He placed second in the sin department again, this
time to Ted Olson, a player that split his year between the Edmonton Oil Kings
and Calgary Centennials.
He returned to the league in an executive capacity for a
short time, about a decade ago. In August, 2003, Rick was named the General
Manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors. However, in October, 2004, before the
2004-05 season started, Dorman was let go by the club.
Rick Dorman – Pro Hockey
Rick played pro hockey from 1976-77 to 1984-85 in the NAHL,
USHL, IHL and AHL. However, most of his time was spent in the IHL. In his
second pro year and his first in the IHL, Dorman sat 475 PIM over 76 regular season
games with the Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls. He finished second, behind Alvin White
of the Kalamazoo Wings who amassed 510 penalty minutes.
1979-80 was Rick’s only full year in the American Hockey
League and he made his mark. With the Binghamton Dusters, he placed fifth in
the league for PIM with 267 over 77 games. The league leader that year was Chris
Nilan of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs with 304 PIM.
Two years later, Dorman showed off his offensive abilities a
bit with the Flint Generals of the IHL. Sure, he placed fifth in the league
with 288 PIM but he also scored 15 and assisted on 42 for 57 points over 77
games.
In his final year of pro hockey, Rick still had it in him.
With the Indianapolis Checkers of the IHL, he placed sixth in the league with
263 PIM over a full 80 game schedule.
