Is Derek Dorsett the NHL’s Newest Tough Guy?

As Ken Beckett pointed out at The Power Play Friday morning, Thursday night’s fight card in the NHL was pretty full. Just a few days off a return from the IR, Jared Boll of Columbus had a pair of minor brawls against the Avalanche -- but the fight that caught my eye was the tilt between Colorado Avalanche agitator Darcy Tucker and Derek Dorsett of the Columbus Blue Jackets:↵

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Dorsett, who was taken 189th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, is described by Hockey’s Future as a “Matthew Barnaby-type,” and it’s easy to see why. He piled up 593 PIMs in three seasons in juniors with the Medicine Hat Tigers. Here’s a highlight reel of his fights from the WHL (horrible music warning):↵

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↵The Jackets let him simmer for a season with Syracuse in the AHL last year, where he led the team with 289 PIMs and 25 fights -- this on a squad that featured well-traveled tough guys Zenon Konopka and Jon Mirasty. Here’s some fan footage of a bench-clearing brawl that Dorsett had a hand in last February against Lake Erie:↵

↵↵After Thursday’s action, he leads the NHL in PIMs with 56, and according to Hockeyfights.com, he’s tied for the league lead in fighting majors with Riley Cote with six. He’s even already scored his first NHL goal, against Roberto Luongo in a 4-2 Blue Jackets win over the Canucks on October 21.↵

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