He is the older brother of former NHL player Derian Hatcher, with whom he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on October 21, 2010.

[5] He then played for the Little Caesars 15U AAA team and Detroit Compuware Ambassadors while enrolled at Stevenson High School.

[10] Hatcher joined his brother Mark on the Centennials for the 1983–84 season[3] and scored his first OHL goal on October 10, 1983, against the Toronto Marlboros.

[8] As a result of his play, he was ranked 22nd amongst all eligible skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau[4] and was named to Team USA's roster for the 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

"[4] After signing a contract with the Capitals on September 6, 1984,[12] Hatcher participated in their training camp and scored five points through six preseason games.

[19] As the Capitals qualified for the 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs, he made his postseason debut in their first round series against the New York Islanders.

[2] Over the 1985 offseason, Hatcher worked on his strength and cardio abilities to boost his chances of making the Capitals opening night roster.

He began to improve in January after sitting as a healthy scratch for two games and working with assistant coach Terry Murray.

[24] After representing the United States at the 1987 Canada Cup, Hatcher returned to the Capitals training camp for his third season with the team.

[27] He helped the Capitals advance to the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs but suffered a knee injury in Game 5 of their series against the New York Rangers.

[31] In this role, he reached the 30-goal mark helped all Capitals defencemen set a new league record for most combined points by defensemen on one team.

[34] After refusing to sign with the Capitals, Hatcher was traded to the Dallas Stars on January 18, 1995 in exchange for Mark Tinordi and Rick Mrozik.