Steve Dubinsky

Steve Dubinsky was born in Montreal. Dubinsky played at Clarkson University, where he registered 59 goals and 93 assists (152 points) in 142 games from 1989-92, and was named a 1992 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Star honorable mention, Dubinsky was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the ninth round (226th overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft. Over the next four seasons, Dubinsky divided his time between the Blackhawks and the minors. In 1997-98, Steve played full-time with the Blackhawks and had his best season in the NHL. He recorded career highs in games (82), goals (five), assists (13), points (18), penalty minutes (57), and shots (112). After the season ended, Steve was traded to the Calgary Flames. He played in 61 games and had 14 points for the Flames during the 1998-99 season.

In 1999-2000, Steve played in 23 games for the Flames before severing his anterior cruciate knee ligament, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. Because of the injury, Dubinsky was listed as available for the 2000 Expansion Draft, but neither the Minnesota Wild nor the Columbus Blue Jackets were willing to take the risk. Steve demonstrated that his career was not ruined by the injury; he signed with the Blackhawks prior to the 2000-01 season and began the year with Norfolk of the AHL. He was called up to the Blackhawks in November, and played in 60 games with six goals (a new career-high), four assists, 33 penalty minutes, and -4 plus/minus rating.

Despite a solid season in 2001, Dubinsky spent most of the 2002 season in the minors while under contract with the Blackhawks. He appeared in three games for the Blackhawks, and scored the game-winning goal for Chicago on January 10, in a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. In his three games with Chicago, Dubinsky registered one point, a +1 plus/minus rating, and four penalty minutes. Steve spent much of the early season with Chicago's AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, before being sent to the Milwaukee Admirals on November 26. He was called up to the Blackhawks for two games in early January, 2002, but was then sent back to Milwaukee on January 14 (he had 18 goals and 14 assists (32 points) in 47 games in the minors during the season).

On February 6, 2002, Chicago traded Dubinsky to Nashville for future considerations and he played well for his new team. Steve appeared in 26 games, scoring five goals with two assists and the Predators finished fourth in the Central Division with a record of 28-41-13 (69 points). An unrestricted free agent, he signed with the St. Louis Blues in the off-season.

Dubinsky played the first two months of the 2002-03 season with the Worcester Icecats (in the American Hockey League) and was called up to the Blues on November 25. He played 28 games for St. Louis and had six assists and 23 shots, but did not score a goal. On February 28, Dubinsky was placed on injured reserve due to a concussion. The Blues finished the regular season in second place in the Central Division with 97 points (a record of 41-24-11-6). In the first round of the NHL playoffs, the Blues (the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference) played Vancouver, but lost the series to the Canucks, 4-3.

Sources: Jews in Sports; Statistics from Joy of Hockey/Steve Dubinksy