Mike Busniuk

Michael Busniuk (born December 13, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He is the younger brother of Ron Busniuk.[1] Busniuk was selected 67th overall, in the 5th round of the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, by the Montreal Canadiens and played two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers. Busniuk played eight seasons in the American Hockey League and is the only player to be a member of four consecutive Calder Cup championship teams (1976–1979), and to win five cups as a player. Busniuk won a sixth Calder Cup as a coach.

Mike Busniuk
Born (1951-12-13) December 13, 1951
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
NHL Draft 67th overall, 1971
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1974–1984

Busniuk was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Playing career

Busniuk played junior ice hockey with the Fort William Canadians. During his third and final year, in 1970-71, Busniuk was picked up as an add-on player by the Fort William Hurricanes who had advanced to the 1970 Memorial Cup. In 12 games, he scored twice and had four points.[2] Busniuk played collegiate hockey with the University of Denver Pioneers while earning a teaching certificate in physical education.[2] Busniuk was named team captain in the 1973–74 season.[1] The Pioneers made the Final Four three of the four years he attended the school.

After graduating, Busniuk’s professional hockey career began with being assigned to the Montreal Canadien's AHL farm team, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs for the 1974–75 season. Busniuk played with the Beauce Jaros of the NAHL for the 1975–76 season. The Jaros were the top team in the league in the regular season, but lost in the Lockhart Cup finals. After the NAHL playoffs completed, Busniuk played in one playoff game with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs winning the 1976 Calder Cup. Busniuk and the Voyageurs repeated as Calder Cup champions in 1977.

October 23, 1977 Busniuk signed as a free agent by Philadelphia and was assigned to the Maine Mariners in the AHL.[3] The Mariners were Calder cup champions in 1978 and 1979, and Busniuk became the only person to play on four consecutive Calder Cup winning teams.[4] Three games into the 1979–80 season, Busniuk was called up from the Mariners to the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. Busniuk helped the Flyers reach the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals Final, where they lost in six games to the New York Islanders. Busniuk played for the Flyers for two seasons between 1979 and 1981. In his NHL career, he finished with three goals and 23 assists in 143 games, to go with 297 penalty minutes.

Busniuk returned to the Maine Mariners for the 1981–82 season. He would split the next three seasons playing in the AHL and in Europe with HC Brunico in the Italian Serie A league. Busniuk won a fifth Calder Cup playing with the Mariners in the 1983–84 season. Busniuk won the Calder Cup five times during his playing career to share the record for most Calder Cups won with Bob Solinger, Les Duff, and Fred Glover.[4]

Coaching career

Busniuk began his coaching career as head coach of the Tri-City Americans in the 1991–92 WHL season. He was hired as an assistant coach for the New York Rangers' AHL team Binghamton Rangers. Busniuk remained in Binghamton four seasons, and stayed with the team when it relocated to become the Hartford Wolf Pack for another five seasons. In 2000, as an assistant with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Busniuk won a sixth Calder Cup. Busniuk served as head coach of the United Hockey League's Muskegon Fury in 2002-03, where he posted a 38-29-9 record. Busniuk returned to Binghamton to serve as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators' AHL team, the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League from 2003 to 2010.

Busniuk then returned home to Thunder Bay, where he served in a similar capacity with the Lakehead Thunderwolves, eventually filling in as an interim coach after Joel Scherban was fired four games into the 2012-13 season. He also taught at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, an all First Nations school in Thunder Bay.

In 2013 Busniuk returned to Brunico, Italy to be head coach of HC Pustertal Wölfe, the same city he played for from 1982-1985.

Statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1967–68Fort William CanadiansTBJHL2411112227––––––––––
1968–69Fort William CanadiansTBJHL––––––––––1336910
1969–70Fort William CanadiansTBJHL––––––––––––––––––––
1969–70Fort William HurricanesTBJHL––––––––––1222425
1970–71U. of DenverWCHA361101146––––––––––
1971–72U. of DenverWCHA381192077––––––––––
1972–73U. of DenverWCHA3920173770––––––––––
1973–74U. of DenverWCHA3218224034––––––––––
1974–75Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL691517329461012
1975–76Beauce JarosNAHL65145266179141121361
1975–76Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL––––––––––10004
1976–77Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL8011516160120004
1977–78Maine MarinersAHL7551520721201144
1978–79Maine MarinersAHL79103545215100554
1979–80Maine MarinersAHL32137––––––––––
1979–80Philadelphia FlyersNHL7121820931924623
1980–81Philadelphia FlyersNHL72156204601111
1981–82Maine MarinersAHL78122638203410120
1982–83HC BrunicoSerie A2916334943109122118
1982–83Maine MarinersAHL11055141715652
1983–84HC BrunicoSerie A271630462873586
1983–84Maine MarinersAHL2011216112105
1984–85HC BrunicoSerie A269162529644814
1985–86Thunder Bay TwinsSr. A––––––––––––––––––––
1986–87Thunder Bay TwinsSr. A803336––––––––––
NHL totals 143 3 23 26 297 25 2 5 7 34
AHL totals 397 45 114 159 767 78 4 12 16 235
Serie A totals 82 41 79 120 100 23 16 21 37 38

Coaching record
TeamYearLeagueRegular SeasonPost Season
GWLTOTWOTLPtsFinishResult
Tri-City Americans1991-92WHL 7235352––––723rd in WestLost in round 1
Muskegon Fury2002–03UHL 7638299––––853rd in WesternLost in round 2
Lakehead Thunderwolves2012–13OUA ––––––––––––––––Lost in round 1
HC Pustertal Wölfe2013–14Elite A 422314––14753rd in leagueLost in finals

References
  1. "Mike Busniuk". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  2. "Mike Busniuk". legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  3. "Mike Busniuk Stats". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  4. "Story of the Calder Cup". theahl.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
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