The Colorado Rockies couldn't have been too happy when their fourth choice in the 1978 Amateur Draft, Dave Watson missed the entire 1978-79 campaign as a result of an injury. Watson was back at one hundred percent the following year and though much of his season was spent in the minors with the Forth Worth Texans, he did make his NHL debut that year as well.
Watson joined the Rockies for five games but the left-winger was unable to register a point in that time. The following year he was again with the Texans for the majority of the schedule but the Rockies required his services for 13 games. Watson was able to record his only NHL point during this stretch when he recorded and assist.
After spending all of the 1981-82 season in Fort Worth, Watson took his career in a different direction and joined the Atlantic Coast Hockey League's Carolina Thunderbirds. Watson was instant hit in the ACHL by leading the league in scoring with 102 points on the strength of 53 goals and 49 assists. Watson continued to impress in the post season by again leading the league in scoring with 14 points in just eight games. The following season he was limited to just 29 games, but by playoff time he was healthy again and played 10 games for the Thunderbirds. In 1984-85 Watson was back to producing big numbers for Carolina with an 85 point effort then another solid playoff outing. IN the post-season Watson led the circuit in assists with 14 in ten games. The following year was Watson's final season and it consisted of just nine games before he called it quits.
