Dale Martin Hawerchuk (April 4, 1963 – August 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach.

At the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, he scored all eight goals during an 8–1 victory in the finals, smashing the longstanding record by the legendary Guy Lafleur.

In 1979, Hawerchuk was selected sixth overall by the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and became somewhat of a rarity: a Toronto-born player starring in the QMJHL.

He was named a QMJHL First Team All-Star, the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year, and Memorial Cup MVP.

The Winnipeg Jets selected Hawerchuk first overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, ahead of fellow future Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Grant Fuhr, and Chris Chelios.

Hawerchuk immediately became Winnipeg's star attraction, leading the Jets to what was at the time the largest single-season turnaround in NHL history, a 48-point improvement.

In 1995, with the Sabres looking to slash team salary, he signed a three-year contract with the St. Louis Blues,[3] recording 41 points in 66 games before a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in March 1996.

[4] His appearance with the Flyers in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals marked the only time any of his teams advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

In a poll of NHL general managers during the mid-1980s asking them to select the player they would start a franchise with, Hawerchuk was voted third behind only Gretzky and Paul Coffey.

[8] In 2019, Hawerchuk announced he would be taking a leave of absence from the Colts for health reasons,[9] which was later revealed to be stomach cancer.