Near the end of his NHL career, Dean Prentice ranked 12th all-time for goals scored in the National Hockey League. This is a little fact found on the back of his 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee hockey card.
He may not rank too high for career goals anymore but Prentice does still stand in the 42nd spot for most regular season games played in the NHL. Dean played 22 seasons in the NHL with a grand total of 1,378 regular season games played.
Yet, he appeared in a lackluster 54 playoff games and never played on a Stanley Cup champion. Could his lack of playoff success be the one thing that kept him out of the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Dean Prentice – Junior and Minor Pro
Dean Prentice played three years of major junior hockey in the OHA from 1950-51 to 1952-53 with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters. In his final year, he appeared in just five games for Guelph, taking the call from the New York Rangers for the rest of the season.
Dean Prentice Collection
In 1951-52, Prentice and the Biltmores had a standout season. Over the regular season, Dean finished seventh in the league with 48 goals over 51 games. The team placed second overall in the ten team league and won the championship. At the Memorial Cup tournament, Guelph took the prize, sweeping the Regina Pats in four games.
On that Mad Hatters team, Prentice was teamed with Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell and Ron Stewart. Combined regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup run, Dean scored 82 and assisted on 42 for 124 points over 86 games.
Prentice jumped right to the NHL with any time in the minors. His only stint came in 1976-77 after his National Hockey League days were done. He played part of a season with the Traverse City Bays of the USHL in the role of player/coach. The team finished out of playoff contention.
Previous to that, in his first year of retirement as a NHL player, Prentice coached in the AHL with the New Haven Nighthawks. The 1974-75 Nighthawks finished last in the five team Northern Division but reached the finals against the fourth in the North Springfield Indians. Springfield came out on top in five games to capture the Calder Cup. The Indians were coached by Dean’s Guelph and New York teammate Ron Stewart.
Dean Prentice – NHL
Between 1952-53 and 1973-74, Dean Prentice played in 1,378 regular season National Hockey League games with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars. Over that time, he scored 391 and assisted on 469 for 860 points. In just 54 Stanley Cup playoff games, he added 30 points.
In 1955-56, Prentice tied for eighth in the NHL with 24 goals. Equaling his total were Andy Hebenton of the New York Rangers and Johnny Wilson of the Chicago Blackhawks.
As per many of the back of his hockey cards, Prentice had a four goal game during the 1958-59 NHL season. The following season, Dean placed fourth with 32 goals, seven behind the leader, Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks. He also placed tenth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 66 points.
Two years later, in 1961-62, his 38 assists tied him for eighth in the NHL with Norm Ullman of the Detroit Red Wings, Ralph Backstrom of the Montreal Canadiens and Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Not long after, the Rangers let Prentice go. In February, 1963, he was sent to the Bruins in exchange for Don McKenney. In February, 1966, Dean was traded to the Red Wings with Leo Boivin for Gary Doak, Bill Lesuk and Ron Murphy. That year, Prentice got as close to the Stanley Cup as he would get with Detroit losing to the Canadiens in the finals.
Dean Prentice – Rookie Card
The Dean Prentice rookie card appears as number 74 in the 1954-55 Parkhurst set. The card shows him as a member of the New York Rangers and is valued at nearly twice that of a common card.
As mentioned earlier, his 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee card states that at the time, his 322 career goals placed him 12th all-time in National Hockey League history. Many of his cards refer to his four goal game with the Rangers in 1958-59.
Dean Prentice Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1950-51 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 51 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 26 |
| 1951-52 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 51 | 48 | 27 | 75 | 68 |
| 1952-53 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 1952-53 | New York Rangers | NHL | 55 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 20 |
| 1953-54 | New York Rangers | NHL | 52 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 18 |
| 1954-55 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 20 |
| 1955-56 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 44 |
| 1956-57 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 38 |
| 1957-58 | New York Rangers | NHL | 38 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 14 |
| 1958-59 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 11 |
| 1959-60 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 43 |
| 1960-61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 56 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 17 |
| 1961-62 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 20 |
| 1962-63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 49 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 18 |
| 1962-63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| 1963-64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 23 | 16 | 39 | 37 |
| 1964-65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 31 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 12 |
| 1965-66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 50 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 10 |
| 1965-66 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 |
| 1966-67 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 18 |
| 1967-68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 42 |
| 1968-69 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 74 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 18 |
| 1969-70 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 26 | 25 | 51 | 14 |
| 1970-71 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 69 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 18 |
| 1971-72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 71 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 14 |
| 1972-73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 73 | 26 | 16 | 42 | 22 |
| 1973-74 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 1976-77 | Traverse City Bays | USHL | 28 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 20 |
| NHL Totals | 1378 | 391 | 469 | 860 | 484 |