Mike Blaisdell

Mike Blaisdell
Born	(1960-01-18) January 18, 1960 Moose Jaw, SK, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs Minors Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) Tulsa Oilers (CHL) New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) Newmarket Saints (AHL) Albany Choppers (IHL) Other Schwenninger ERC (DEL) Durham Wasps (BHL) Nottingham Panthers (BHL) Sheffield Steelers (BISL)
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1980 Detroit Red Wings
Playing career	1980–2001

Michael Walter "Wally" Blaisdell (born January 18, 1960 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the NHL and later in the BHL. He was the 1st round draft pick (11th overall) in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft of the Detroit Red Wings. Blaisdell most recently was the head coach of the 2003–04 British Elite Ice Hockey League Champions, the Sheffield Steelers.

Professional career

Amateur and college hockey

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.

The NHL comes calling

In the 1980 NHL Entry Draft the Detroit Red Wings decided to pick Blaisdell with their 11th overall pick. They placed him in their farm team the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL and instantly saw his potential. After just 41 games, Blaisdell was called up to play for the Red Wings full-time. In the 1981–82 season, Blaisdell really started to feel comfortable in the league and formed a solid unit with Mark Kirton and Paul Woods. He scored 23 goals and ended with 55 points that season as the Red Wings once again 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 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 Tulsa 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 off waivers 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 and 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 decided this time would be better spent on the Canadian National Team during the 1990–91 season. Part-way through, he changed his mind and decided to see what else was out there. He joined the roster of Schwenninger ERC in West Germany's Bundesliga for three games and then the Albany Choppers of the IHL before heading across the pond joining the Durham Wasps of the British Hockey League where he instantly became a fans favourite. There 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 deciding to try his hand at coaching with the Nottingham Panthers. After coaching for half the year, Blaisdell felt he still offered more when he was on the ice and decided to return to doing what he knew best; scoring goals. 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 here and there until 2001 when he played his last four games for the Sheffield Steelers before retiring.

Blaisdell is arguably one of the greatest ice hockey players to have ever played in Great Britain, with few players ever since, coming close to matching his 343 NHL games and 154 NHL points.

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. He slowly learned what it took to coach a professional team over the next three years 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.

Awards

• AHL Calder Cup in 1981 (Adirondack Red Wings)^[4]
• CHL Championship Adams Cup in 1984 (Tulsa Oilers)^[5]
• Great Britain Championship: 1991, 1992 (Durham) 2001 (Sheffield) (as head coach), 2002 (Sheffield) (as head coach)^[6]
• Ice Hockey Journalists UK Coach of the Year in 1994–95, 2000–01, 2002–03 and 2003–04^[7]
• Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004^[8]
• Inducted to the Sheffield Steelers Hall of Fame in 2006^[9]

Career statistics

Player

Coach

References

External links

• Mike Blaisdell's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Mike Blaisdell's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Mike Blaisdell's player profile at NHL.com
• British Hockey Hall of Fame entry