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Mike Blaisdell
Blaisdell circa 2001
Born (1960-01-18) January 18, 1960 (age 64)
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Schwenninger ERC
Durham Wasps
Nottingham Panthers
Sheffield Steelers
NHL Draft 11th overall, 1980
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1980–2001

Michael Walter Blaisdell (born January 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1980 and 1989 and later in the British Hockey League (BHL) from 1990 to 2001. He was selected 11th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Blaisdell later worked as a coach in the United Kingdom.

Professional career

Amateur and college hockey

Blaisdell was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. In 1978, Blaisdell joined the Regina Pats of the WCHL (later the WHL for the end of the 1977-78 regular season and the playoffs.[1] In the final six games of the season, Blaisdell scored 5 goals and 5 assists, for 10 points and a 1.66 points per game average. He added 11 points in 13 playoff games. The following season, Blaisdell played 20 games at University of Wisconsin–Madison before returning to the Pats for the 1979–80 WHL season.

NHL career

In the 1980 NHL Entry Draft the Detroit Red Wings took Blaisdell with their 11th overall pick. They placed him in their farm team the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL) and instantly saw his potential. After just 41 games, Blaisdell was called up to play for Detroit. In the 1981–82 season, Blaisdell formed a solid unit with Mark Kirton and Paul Woods. He scored 23 goals and ended with 55 points that season but the Red Wings failed to reach the playoffs. He continued to chip in goals for the Red Wings and on June 13, 1983 was involved in a large trade to the New York Rangers with Willie Huber and Mark Osborne for Ron Duguay, Eddie Mio and Eddie Johnstone.

Most of Blaisdell's time with the Rangers was spent in and out of their farm teams; the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League (CHL) and the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL. He won the 1983-84 CHL Championship (Adams Cup) as a member of the Tulsa Oilers team coached by Tom Webster. Due to bankruptcy, the Oilers suspended operations on February 16, 1984, and the team played only road games for final six weeks of 1983-84 season. Despite this adversity, the team went on to win the league's championship.[2] Blaisdell played in all nine playoff games, and lead the team in both goals (6 - tied with Bob Scurfield) and points (12 - tied with Gary Burns).[3]

After failing to find a role in the organization, he was claimed in the 1985 NHL Waiver Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 7, 1985. He scored 15 goals and played some of his best two-way hockey during the 1985–86 season, but his playing time decreased the next year while splitting time with Pittsburgh's farm team, the Baltimore Skipjacks. After that season, Blaisdell was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 10, 1987 but only played in 27 games for the Leafs for the following two years, which would be his last in the National Hockey League.

International play

Blaisdell played with the Canadian National Team during the 1990–91 season. Partway through, he changed his mind and decided to look for other opportunities. He joined the roster of Schwenninger ERC in West Germany's Eishockey-Bundesliga for three games and then the Albany Choppers of the International Hockey League (IHL) before heading back to Europe, joining the Durham Wasps of the British Hockey League where he instantly became a fan favourite. He went on to score a record-breaking 74 goals in 1991–92 leading the Wasps to the second of their back-to-back championships. Blaisdell added 41 points the following season before coaching with the Nottingham Panthers. After coaching for half the year, Blaisdell felt he still offered more when he was on the ice. In the 1995–96 season, Blaisdell scored 35 goals to finish with 81 points on the season. Blaisdell slowly drew away from the league (by then called the Ice Hockey Superleague), but would continue to play in a few games until 2001 when he played his last four games for the Sheffield Steelers before retiring.

Coach Blaisdell

Blaisdell again returned to coaching in the 2001–02 season with the team he last stepped on the ice for, the Sheffield Steelers, and finished the 2003–04 season with a record of 44–8–3 and a 0.821 win percentage. He led the Steelers to the league's best record and won the League Championship before retiring from hockey.

Personal life

Blaisdell's son Harrison played junior hockey for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Hockey League[4] and later attended the University of North Dakota.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1977–78 Regina Pat Blues SJHL 60 70 46 116 43 — — — — —
1977–78 Regina Pats WCHL 6 5 5 10 2 13 4 7 11 0
1978–79 University of Wisconsin WCHA 23 7 2 9 19 — — — — —
1979–80 University of Wisconsin WCHA 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1979–80 Regina Pats WHL 63 71 38 109 62 18 16 9 25 26
1979–80 Regina Pats M-Cup — — — — — 4 4 5 9 0
1980–81 Detroit Red Wings NHL 32 3 6 9 10 — — — — —
1980–81 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 41 10 4 14 8 12 2 2 4 5
1981–82 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 23 32 55 48 — — — — —
1982–83 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 18 23 41 22 — — — — —
1983–84 New York Rangers NHL 36 5 6 11 31 — — — — —
1983–84 Tulsa Oilers CHL 32 10 8 18 23 9 6 6 12 6
1984–85 New York Rangers NHL 12 1 0 1 11 — — — — —
1984–85 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 64 21 23 44 41 — — — — —
1985–86 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 66 15 14 29 36 — — — — —
1986–87 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 10 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
1986–87 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 43 12 12 24 47 — — — — —
1987–88 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 18 3 2 5 2 6 1 2 3 10
1987–88 Newmarket Saints AHL 57 28 28 56 30 — — — — —
1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 9 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1988–89 Newmarket Saints AHL 40 16 7 23 48 — — — — —
1989–90 Canadian National Team Intl 50 12 18 30 40 — — — — —
1989–90 Schwenninger ERC GER 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
1990–91 Albany Choppers IHL 6 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
1990–91 Durham Wasps BHL 18 36 35 71 114 8 24 14 38 18
1990–91 HC Sierre NDA 5 4 0 4 6 — — — — —
1991–92 Durham Wasps BHL 36 74 52 126 86 8 11 13 24 22
1992–93 Durham Wasps BHL 13 23 18 41 46 — — — — —
1994–95 Nottingham Panthers BHL 11 7 10 17 60 — — — — —
1995–96 Nottingham Panthers BHL 33 26 33 59 77 8 1 6 7 4
1996–97 Nottingham Panthers BISL 7 2 2 4 6 — — — — —
1998–99 Nottingham Panthers BISL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2000–01 Sheffield Steelers BISL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
AHL totals 245 87 74 161 174 12 2 2 4 5
BHL totals 111 166 148 314 383 24 36 33 69 44
NHL totals 343 70 84 154 166 6 1 2 3 10

Coaching

    Regular season  
Season Team League G W L T OTL PCT Finished Playoffs
1993–94 Nottingham Panthers BHL 44 26 16 2 — .591 5th Semi-final
1994–95 Nottingham Panthers BHL 44 32 8 4 — .727 2nd Semi-final
1995–96 Nottingham Panthers BHL 36 19 12 4 — .528 4th Runners up
1996–97 Nottingham Panthers BISL 44 21 20 1 2 .477 4th Runners up
1997–98 Nottingham Panthers BISL 44 22 18 4 0 .500 5th Preliminary Round Group A
1998–99 Nottingham Panthers BISL 42 25 14 1 2 .595 3rd Runners up
1999–00 Nottingham Panthers BISL — — — — — — — —
1999–00 Sheffield Steelers BISL — — — — — — 1st Semi-final
2000–01 Sheffield Steelers BISL 48 35 9 0 4 .729 1st Winners
2001–02 Sheffield Steelers BISL 48 18 18 12 0 .375 3rd Winners
2002–03 Sheffield Steelers BISL 32 18 8 5 1 .563 1st Semi-final
2003–04 Sheffield Steelers EIHL 56 44 8 3 1 .786 1st Winners
2005–06 Nottingham Panthers EIHL 42 23 11 6 2 .548 3rd Preliminary Round Group B

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Mike Blaisdell hockey statistics & profile at". Hockeydb.com. 1960-01-18. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  2. ^ "Special Features: The Tulsa Oilers were true road warriors". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  3. ^ "1983-84 Tulsa Oilers [CHL] roster and player statistics at". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  4. ^ Welsh, Eric (June 23, 2017). "Chilliwack Chiefs sign 16 year old away from WHL's Vancouver Giants". Chilliwack Progress. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "1980 NHL Entry Draft - Mike Blaisdell". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  6. ^ "1980 NHL Entry Draft - Mike Blaisdell". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  7. ^ "1980 NHL Entry Draft - Mike Blaisdell". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  8. ^ [1] Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ [2] Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Sshof Forum". Hallofsteel.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2010-07-03.

External links

Awards Preceded byJohn LawlessDave WhistleDave Whistle BIHWA Coach of the Year 1994–952000–012002–03, 2003–04 Succeeded byPaul HeaveyDave WhistlePaul Thompson Sporting positions Preceded byMike Foligno Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick 1980 Succeeded byMurray Craven Preceded byKevin Murphy Nottingham Panthers Head Coach 1993–99 Succeeded byAlex Dampier Preceded byDon McKee Sheffield Steelers Head Coach 1999–04 Succeeded byRob Stewart Preceded byPaul Adey Nottingham Panthers Head Coach 2005–06 Succeeded byMike Ellis
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