Mike Valley

1 NHL Game

November 2, 1998 Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers. 3-5 loss.

   November 2, 1998 Vancouver goalie Garth Snow woke up and with a pain in his leg that made it difficult for him to even get out of bed. It was clear that he wouldn't be able to dress for the team's game later that day. The Canucks rushed to find a replacement and settled on Mike Valley, who was in Syracuse and at the time was rated as the no. 3 goalie in Vancouver's system. He was able to make it to game and dressed as backup goalie to Corey Hirsch. "This is a dream come true for me," Valley said about being with the Canucks. "The only downer for me is that my girlfriend came to visit me on Friday and we got engaged. Then I had to leave Sunday." (1) Playing in Edmonton against the Oilers was extra special for a Western Canadian of his generation. "Kind of gives me the chills. I idolized the Oilers. To be standing where Grant Fuhr stood, I'm thrilled."(2)

   Mike Valley, a native of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, didn't start playing organized hockey until he was 12. Born to Swedish parents, he played in Vallentuna, Sweden as a teenager. Valley came to North America for his last year of junior and then took to the college route when Wisconsin offered him a scholarship. He spent just two years at the University of Wisconsin before being signed away by the Vancouver Canucks as an undrafted free agent June, 1998. Valley had gotten to know Vancouver's European scout and former player, Thomas Gradin, while in Sweden so the Canucks had long had an eye on Valley. Valley had showed strong potential and lead Wisconsin to a WCHA championship in his last season of college. (3)

   In the summer of 2000 the Canucks decided against offering Valley a qualifying offer and he became a free agent. Valley then returned to Sweden for a couple seasons and ultimately retired in 2004 after a couple years of splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. In 2005 Mike Valley returned to the University of Wisconsin to complete his degree. Valley started his real career in the NHL when he became a goalie coach with the Nashville Predators in 2008. A year later he switched teams and became the Dallas Stars' head goalie coach. In 2015 the Stars promoted Valley from Goaltending Coach to Director of Player Development.

• Wore #35 with Canucks

Career stats from hockeydb.com

Born Sep 3 1976 -- Richmond, BC 

Height 6.01 -- Weight 185

			RS Scoring			RS Goalie Stats										PO Scoring
Season	Team	Lge	GP	A	PIM	Min	GA	EN	SO	GAA	W	L	T	Svs	Pct	GP	A	PIM
1996-97	U. of Wisconsin	WCHA	10	0	0	426	24	0	0	3.39	2	3	0
1997-98	U. of Wisconsin	WCHA	23	1	0	1322	66	9	1	2.99	13	9	1	598	0.901
1998-99	Syracuse Crunch	AHL	26	1	4	1281	87	3	0	4.07	2	17	1	534	0.860	-	-	-
1998-99	Augusta Lynx	ECHL	9	0	0	494	26	1	1	3.16	5	3	0	247	0.905	-	-	-
1999-00	Syracuse Crunch	AHL	1	0	0	4	1	0	0	14.23						-	-	-
1999-00	Augusta Lynx	ECHL	3	0	0	150	11	0	0	4.40	0	2	0	80	0.879	-	-	-
1999-00	Louisiana IceGators	ECHL	28	1	2	1466	81	1	1	3.32	15	6	5	798	0.908	17	1	6
2000-01	Louisiana IceGators	ECHL	25	0	4	1481	71	1	0	2.88	11	7	5	727	0.911	-	-	-
2000-01	Bjorkloven IF	SEL	4	0	0											-	-	-
2001-02	AIK	SEL	16	0	2	826	51	0	0	3.70				369	0.879	-	-	-
2002-03	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL	44	1	4	2439	131	2	4	3.22	16	23	3	1294	0.908	-	-	-
2002-03	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL	10	0	2	579	29	4	1	3.01	2	6	2	275	0.905	-	-	-
2003-04	Peoria Rivermen	ECHL	37	1	10	2185	83	3	3	2.28	20	8	7	888	0.915	6	0	0
2003-04	Worcester IceCats	AHL	2	0	0	123	4	0	0	1.95	2	0	0	42	0.913	-	-	-

(1) Jim Jamieson. The Province (Vancouver, BC) Nov. 3, 1998. 

(2) Jim Matheson. Edmonton Journal. Nov. 3. 1998. 

(3) Jim Jamieson. The Province (Vancouver, BC) Nov. 4, 1998.