For Harvey, Dallas will always be a special place

While it's hardly trivial, Todd Harvey is in fact the answer to an interesting bit of Dallas Stars history as the first-ever player drafted by the team after they made the move to Texas from Minnesota in the summer of 1993.
We caught up recently with the ninth-overall pick of the Stars, who would go on to play 671 NHL regular-season games for the Stars, Rangers, Sharks and Oilers, finishing up his playing career with Edmonton during its run to the 2006 Stanley Cup final.

Scott Burnside: So, Todd, where geographically are you right now?
Todd Harvey:I'm in Cambridge, Ontario, which is just outside Toronto -- about 45 minutes west.
SB: What are you doing now?
TH: I'm actually scouting for the Vancouver Canucks, so I'm doing amateur here in Ontario and just actually started that this year. I was coaching junior hockey up in Guelph with the Guelph Storm; I did that for four or five years there. I was back in the game and this came up with Vancouver, so I decided to maybe try my hand at this instead of behind the bench. A little less stressful.
SB: What's the transition from coaching to scouting been like for you?
TH:I've actually enjoyed it. Traveling on my own, you miss the coaching and being behind the bench and the daily process of preparing for hockey, and helping the young guys develop and try to be pros. But obviously, you win and lose (and) it gets pretty tough, because you're living and dying with every win and loss. This has been a different thing. Still get to watch a lot of hockey -- just from a different perspective.
SB: With your experience -- and you had some early success in Guelph with a trip to the Memorial Cup, and you've also endured the ups and downs as an organization -- has that helped you in identifying young players and where they're at in their development?
TH: Well, for sure. Just knowing the league (the Ontario Hockey League) and being involved in the league, and knowing the players and even obviously drafting the kids out of minor midget and obviously watching, so you see a good wide spread of year births. You're right -- you expect guys to develop faster than others, and others that obviously take some time. So just knowing the league, being around it definitely helped me.
SB: So are you mainly in Ontario or where does your travel take you?
TH: My main region is the OHL here, and obviously, the Tier II loop that's here in Ontario. I've skipped over to watch a few Quebec league games and gone down to the U.S. to watch a couple of National Development team games down there, so the USHL. It's nice to jump out. We're so central here to everything, so you can jump around a little bit and just get a perspective. You watch this league so much, it's nice to get a different view of the other leagues.
SB: What was the gap between when you retired (after the 2006 season) and the return to coaching in Guelph?
TH: I was still involved with hockey. I ran a business with another guy -- a skill-development thing -- so I wasn't that far out of hockey, but I wasn't involved in coaching and different stuff like that. I'd say I did that for five or six years. So I'd say it was five or six years away from the game and then obviously started up in Guelph and been at it ever since. You know, you miss it. You get out of it and you start saying to yourself, 'Geez, man, what am I going to do with my life? What do I know? What am I good at?' And obviously, having some opportunities to get back in the game has been great, and I've enjoyed every minute of it.
SB: Did you need a break after the end of your playing career?
TH: I've seen guys that stopped playing and not stopped, gone into coaching -- or whatever it is -- and maybe, they get a burnout. Obviously, the first year when you get done playing, it's great. You think you've got the world by the ass, then all of a sudden, you're like 'I've got a long way to go there, boy.' And you start missing the game, and you kind of start doubting yourself - 'Geez, what can I do?' Running my own business was an eye-opener for me -- a lot of work, not just eight hours a day. You own your own business, you're working long hours trying to make a good go of running a small business. And then, getting back in the game has been a breath of fresh air for me, because I love the game, and maybe I did get burnt out at one time or another.
SB: What did you miss?
TH:Missed being in the dressing room with the guys. We have some alumni stuff up here -- games and whatnot to play in -- and I started doing that four or five years after I got done playing, and I really enjoyed that part of it, just being in the room, the camaraderie of it. Didn't matter if I didn't play with Rick Vaive or different guys like that, you still had that camaraderie even though you didn't play with or against any of those guys.
SB: What do you remember about your being drafted by Dallas and your first experiences in Texas?
TH: Well, it's a long time ago - What is it, 24 years ago? The team was there one year and then I came the next year. It's 24 years, I think it is.
SB: Yes, you're the first player drafted after the move.
TH:Yeah, yeah. What a mistake they made. (laughing)
SB: I don't think that's the case.
TH: I do remember my first time being young and driving into Dallas and going to old Reunion Arena there, and I'm driving in the car towards the arena, and I'm like, 'This place looks place familiar. I've seen it before.' And it was obviously was where (President John F. Kennedy) was assassinated and I was a young kid. I was like, 'Wow.' But being a young kid and coming into a new situation, obviously, in Dallas, the fans were great. We used to fill that Reunion Arena and there was excitement there with the Stars being in Dallas and it was a lot of fun. I had a great time."
SB: Is there a moment or memories you take away from that first year?
TH:Obviously, my son (Dalton) born there. Obviously, that was a big point in my life. I think when you're a young guy, you kind of take stuff for granted and you really don't sit back and take it all in, and just being in Dallas at 19 and not really knowing what to expect. I'll never forget Dave Gagner. Bob Gainey was our coach at the time and I remember I wasn't playing a lot as a young guy. And I remember Dave Gagner saying something to me on the bench -- and we can't use the words that he said -- but he says, 'Do you want to play in this frigging league? Go out and frigging do something.' And I jumped over the boards and ended up getting in a fight. I did pretty well and I thought to myself, 'Geez, maybe I can play in this league.'
SB: I talked to Dave Gagner recently and he talked about the bond that the group who helped introduce the Stars to Texas, charting a new course. Do you feel the same way?
TH:Yeah, I do. I came the second year. They had a pretty decent year the first year there and everything was so new for the people of Dallas. It was almost like it was the thing to do. Obviously, the Cowboys were there, but to go to Reunion Arena and watch the Stars play it was a big night in Dallas down at that arena. And obviously, we had great players that came through to lead us in regards to the Modanos and Hatcher and Carbonneaus and the Ludwigs -- go through the list. The Russ Courtnalls. Me, being a young guy and learning from those guys, it was a thrill for me.
SB: You mentioned your son, how big is your family?
TH: Well, Dalton, he turns 21 in February and I've got a daughter, and she's actually coming down with me. She's first up in Waterloo (the University of Waterloo), so she's 18 and I've got one that's just in Grade 9, another daughter. They're all almost out of the house. Dalton, he'll be done next year he's at Illinois State there playing baseball. He's a junior now, so he's got one more year left.
SB: Where'd he get his baseball smarts?
TH:I have no idea. He didn't get them from his old man, I know that. Well, we spent time actually in California there for about five years (with the San Jose Sharks) and played all year-round, and obviously, it was his love. And I do enjoy baseball -- a big fan up here of the Blue Jays. That's something that I actually enjoy and bringing a cooler and watching baseball instead of being in a cold arena.
SB: So you're not providing too much advice on his stance?
TH:No, I thought I knew a lot of stuff back when I was younger, but we can't play catch anymore. He throws it too hard.
Todd Harvey returns to American Airlines Center on Saturday, where he will be honored throughout the Stars' game against Nashville as part of the team's 25th Anniversary Reunion Nights. For more information, and to purchase tickets, click here.
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.