Gary Shuchuk

Gary Robert Shuchuk (born February 17, 1967) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former forward who is currently an assistant coach with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1991 and 1996. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1990 to 2004, was spent in the minor leagues and later in Europe. After his playing career Shuchuk turned to coaching and spent several years at the American collegiate level.

College career

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Shuchuk committed to the University of Wisconsin during his second year playing for the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He played four years for the Badgers from 1986-1990. During that time he won a WCHA Championship, an NCAA Championship, and was named a First-Team All-American. During the 1989-1990 Season he accumulated 80 points (41 goals, 39 assists), which currently ranks sixth all time for total points in a season in Wisconsin Hockey history, his 41 goals that season also ranks fourth in the program's history. Other notable historic statistics include: second all time in Wisconsin Hockey program history for number of games played (177 GP), fifth all time in career penalty minutes (314 PIMs), seventh all time in career goals (85 G), and 12th all time in career points (176 pts).

Professional career

Shuchuk started his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings in 1990. Shuchuk then went to the Los Angeles Kings as part of the Paul Coffey-Jimmy Carson trade, and is probably best known for scoring the game-winning goal for the Kings in double overtime of game five of the 1993 Smythe Division finals against the Vancouver Canucks. During the 1993 season, Shuchuk and the Los Angeles Kings made it to the Stanley Cup Final, before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. In addition to his time in the NHL, Shuchuk played in the IHL, and the AHL, with the Adirondack Red Wings, Houston Aeros, Phoenix Roadrunners, and the Orlando Solar Bears. He went on to play in Europe, having played for SC Herisau in the Swiss 1. Liga, for EC KAC in the Austrian Hockey League, as well as Düsseldorfer EG and Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. During the 2002-03 DEL season, he captained the Krefeld Pinguine to their first league championship in over 50 years.

International career

Shuchuk played for Team Canada in the 1990 Goodwill Games winning a Bronze Medal in the process. He also captained Team Canada to a Gold Medal in the 2002 Deutschland Cup. He was once again elected to Team Canada for the 2003 Deutschland Cup.

Coaching career

Shuchuk was a player assistant coach for the Springfield Falcons for the 2003-04 AHL season. In 2010 he was hired as an Assistant Coach for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He helped the program reach two NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's, as well as winning the 2014 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2015 he went on to become an Assistant Coach for the Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team, helping the program win the 2017 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and securing a spot in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2017, he was named the head coach of the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 St. Albert Saints AJHL 56 30 31 61 88 — — — — — 1985–86 St. Albert Saints AJHL 49 42 46 88 103 — — — — — 1986–87 University of Wisconsin WCHA 42 19 11 30 72 — — — — — 1987–88 University of Wisconsin WCHA 44 7 22 29 70 — — — — — 1988–89 University of Wisconsin WCHA 46 18 19 37 102 — — — — — 1989–90 University of Wisconsin WCHA 45 41 39 80 70 — — — — — 1990–91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6 1 2 3 6 3 0 0 0 0 1990–91 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 59 23 24 47 32 — — — — — 1991–92 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 79 32 48 80 48 19 4 9 13 18 1992–93 Los Angeles Kings NHL 25 2 4 6 16 17 2 2 4 12 1992–93 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 47 24 53 77 66 — — — — — 1993–94 Los Angeles Kings NHL 56 3 4 7 30 — — — — — 1994–95 Los Angeles Kings NHL 22 3 6 9 6 — — — — — 1994–95 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 13 8 7 15 12 — — — — — 1995–96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 33 4 10 14 12 — — — — — 1995–96 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 33 8 21 29 76 4 1 0 1 4 1996–97 Houston Aeros IHL 55 18 23 41 48 13 5 2 7 18 1997–98 SC Herisau NLA 40 15 33 48 60 — — — — — 1998–99 EC KAC AUT 52 20 36 56 119 — — — — — 1999–00 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 71 16 33 49 94 6 1 1 2 12 2000–01 Düsseldorfer EG DEL 56 17 30 47 62 — — — — — 2001–02 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 60 18 32 50 70 3 0 2 2 8 2002–03 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 51 7 13 20 62 14 1 3 4 34 2003–04 Springfield Falcons AHL 67 8 21 29 45 — — — — — NHL totals 142 13 26 39 70 20 2 2 4 12

Awards and honors