Anybody who plays almost 1,000 games in the NHL, as Dean McAmmond did, can’t be labelled a disappointment. For me, though, McAmmond, who played 303 regular season games with the Edmonton Oilers, was one of those players who leaves you wanting more.
McAmmond, drafted 22nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1991, was a wonderful skater. He had nice hands. He could play centre or wing. All in all, McAmmond had a good NHL career with 448 points in 996 regular season games, including 161 points with the Oilers. Not bad. Just not as much as I expected.

Dean McAmmond #11

Center
NUMBER:
11
BIRTHDATE:
June 15, 1973
HEIGHT:
5′ 11″
BIRTHPLACE:
Grand Cache, AB, Canada
WEIGHT:
195
DRAFTED:
CHI / 1991 NHL Entry Draft
SHOOTS:
Left
ROUND:
1st   (22nd overall)

BY THE NUMBERS

SEASONTEAMGPGAP+/-PIM PPGSHGGWGSS%
1988-89
ST. ALBERT RAIDERS-AMHL
36
33
44
77
132
1989-90
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
53
11
11
22
49
1990-91
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
71
33
35
68
108
1991-92
BLACKHAWKS
5
0
2
2
-2
0
0
0
0
4
0.0
1991-92
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
63
37
54
91
189
1992-93
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
30
19
29
48
44
1992-93
CANADA-WJC-A
7
0
1
1
12
1992-93
SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS-WHL
18
10
13
23
24
1992-93
SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS-M-CUP
4
0
3
3
10
1993-94
OILERS
45
6
21
27
12
16
2
0
0
52
11.5
1993-94
CAPE BRETON OILERS-AHL
28
9
12
21
38
1994-95
OILERS
6
0
0
0
-1
0
0
0
0
3
0.0
1995-96
OILERS
53
15
15
30
6
23
4
0
0
79
19.0
1995-96
CAPE BRETON OILERS-AHL
22
9
15
24
55
1995-96
CANADA-WC-A
8
0
2
2
2
1996-97
OILERS
57
12
17
29
-15
28
4
0
6
106
11.3
1997-98
OILERS
77
19
31
50
9
46
8
0
3
128
14.8
1998-99
OILERS
65
9
16
25
5
36
1
0
0
122
7.4
1998-99
BLACKHAWKS
12
1
4
5
3
2
0
0
1
16
6.2
1999-00
BLACKHAWKS
76
14
18
32
11
72
1
0
1
118
11.9
1999-00
CANADA-WC-A
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
2000-01
BLACKHAWKS
61
10
16
26
4
43
1
0
1
95
10.5
2000-01
FLYERS
10
1
1
2
-1
0
1
0
0
17
5.9
2001-02
FLAMES
73
21
30
51
2
60
7
0
4
152
13.8
2002-03
AVALANCHE
41
10
8
18
1
10
2
0
2
72
13.9
2003-04
FLAMES
64
17
13
30
9
18
4
1
5
101
16.8
2004-05
ALBANY RIVER RATS-AHL
79
19
42
61
-1
72
5
1
0
2005-06
BLUES
78
15
22
37
-25
32
4
0
0
116
12.9
2006-07
SENATORS
81
14
15
29
11
28
0
2
1
86
16.3
2007-08
SENATORS
68
9
13
22
1
12
0
3
1
67
13.4
2008-09
SENATORS
44
3
4
7
2
16
0
1
2
40
7.5
2008-09
ISLANDERS
18
2
7
9
5
8
0
0
0
19
10.5
2009-10
DEVILS
62
8
9
17
-1
40
1
1
2
87
9.2
2009-10
LOWELL DEVILS-AHL
6
1
2
3
-1
6
0
0
0
NHL TOTALS
996 
186 
262 
448 
36
490
40
8
29
1,480 
12.6 

CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS

SEASONTEAMGP GAP+/-PIM PPG SHG GWG SS%
1989-90
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
14
2
3
5
18
1990-91
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
2
0
1
1
6
1991-92
BLACKHAWKS
3
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
0.0
1991-92
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS-WHL
10
12
11
23
26
1992-93
SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS-WHL
17
16
19
35
20
1992-93
SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS-M-CUP
4
0
3
3
10
1997-98
OILERS
12
1
4
5
0
12
0
0
0
22
4.6
2000-01
FLYERS
4
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
4
0.0
2006-07
SENATORS
18
5
3
8
5
11
0
1
1
15
33.3
2007-08
SENATORS
4
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
4
0.0
2009-10
DEVILS
5
0
0
0
-1
4
0
0
0
5
0.0
NHL TOTALS
46
6
7
13 
5
35
0
1
1
51
 11.8 

NOTABLE

When the Oilers obtained McAmmond and Igor Kravchuk from Chicago in February 1993, I thought they landed a terrific player. In back-to-back WHL playoff years with Prince Albert and Swift Current, he had 58 points (28-30-58) in just 27 games. I thought McAmmond capable of averaging 50-55 points a season – he ended up hitting the 50-point plateau twice in his career.
One of the challenges for McAmmond was he was joining an Edmonton outfit that wasn’t very good – the 1990 Stanley Cup team had long been dismantled. As part of a stretch from 1992-96 when the Oilers missed the playoffs in four straight seasons, McAmmond never got a sniff of the post-season in his first three campaigns.
In those three seasons, McAmmond had four coaches – Ted Green, Glen Sather, George Burnett and Ron Low. He’d settle in under Low for the back end of his six-year tenure with the Oilers, but those first three years were a mess on a bad team.

THE STORY

McAmmond enjoyed his best two seasons in Edmonton in 1996-97, when the Oilers stunned Dallas in the first round and then lost to Colorado, and in 1997-98, when the Oilers overcame a 3-1 deficit to upset the Avalanche in the first round before losing to Dallas. McAmmond had 50 points in 1997-98, leaving him second to Doug Weight in team scoring.
At the March 1999 trade deadline in the midst of a playoff push, GM Glen Sather opted for a significant shake-up of his roster, sending McAmmond back to Chicago along with Boris Mironov and Jonas Elofsson in return for Daniel Clearly, Chad Kilger, Ethan Moreau and Christian Laflamme.
While McAmmond would enjoy his best NHL campaign in terms of points with 51 in Calgary in 2001-02, he spent the back end of his career bouncing around as a bottom-six forward – his most noteworthy moment coming as a member of the Ottawa Senators when Steve Downie clobbered him.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up. 
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.