Kelly Buchberger

Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a head coach of the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Playing career Buchberger has played for the Edmonton Oilers, Atlanta Thrashers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also played minor hockey with the Western Hockey League Moose Jaw Warriors and pro hockey with the American Hockey League Nova Scotia Oilers.

He was drafted in the ninth round by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1985 NHL entry draft, making him the 188th overall pick. He made his NHL debut in 1987 Stanley Cup finals. During his playing career, he was known best for his gritty play and leadership, having captained the Oilers for four years as the team's 9th leader in franchise history. He won the Stanley Cup twice with Edmonton, in 1987 and 1990.

Buchberger was the last remaining active member of the Oilers' roster to have been on one of their five Stanley Cup-winning teams, along with Marty McSorley. He remained with the Oilers until 1999, when he was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft.

Coaching career After retiring, Buchberger was an assistant coach with the AHL Edmonton Road Runners team in 2004–05. He then joined the Oilers management as a development coach. On August 3, 2007, he was named head coach of the Oilers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, and guided the team to a 35–35–10 record, the team's first .500 season since 1998–99. Buchberger then was promoted to the Edmonton Oilers during the 2008 offseason, becoming an assistant coach with them. On June 10, 2014, he was reassigned to the role of player personnel and replaced as assistant coach by Craig Ramsay.

On July 11, 2017, Buchberger was hired as the assistant coach by the New York Islanders. In 2018, he was named the head coach of the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League. In 2021, his contract with the Americans was not renewed.

Buchberger was hired as the first general manager and head coach of the Devon Xtreme, a junior ice hockey expansion franchise to debut in the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1983–84 Melville Millionaires SJHL 60 14 11 25 139 — — — — — 1984–85 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 51 12 17 29 114 — — — — — 1985–86 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 72 14 22 36 206 13 11 4 15 37 1986–87 Nova Scotia Oilers AHL 70 12 20 32 257 5 0 1 1 23 1986–87 Edmonton Oilers NHL — — — — — 3 0 0 0 5 1987–88 Nova Scotia Oilers AHL 49 21 23 44 206 2 0 0 0 11 1987–88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 19 1 0 1 81 — — — — — 1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 66 5 9 14 234 — — — — — 1989–90 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 2 6 8 168 19 0 5 5 13 1990–91 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 3 1 4 160 12 2 1 3 25 1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 20 24 44 157 16 1 4 5 32 1992–93 Edmonton Oilers NHL 83 12 18 30 133 — — — — — 1993–94 Edmonton Oilers NHL 84 3 18 21 199 — — — — — 1994–95 Edmonton Oilers NHL 48 7 17 24 82 — — — — — 1995–96 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 11 14 25 184 — — — — — 1996–97 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81 8 30 38 159 12 5 2 7 16 1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 6 17 23 122 12 1 2 3 25 1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 52 4 4 8 68 4 0 0 0 0 1999–00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 68 5 12 17 139 — — — — — 1999–00 Los Angeles Kings NHL 13 2 1 3 13 4 0 0 0 4 2000–01 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 6 14 20 75 8 1 0 1 2 2001–02 Los Angeles Kings NHL 74 6 7 13 105 7 0 0 0 7 2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 3 9 12 109 — — — — — 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 1 3 4 109 — — — — — 2005–06 Bentley Generals ChHL 9 4 6 10 12 — — — — — NHL totals 1,182 105 204 309 2,297 97 10 14 24 129

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1993 Canada WC 4th 8 0 2 2 6 1994 Canada WC 8 0 0 0 8 1996 Canada WC 4 0 0 0 6 Senior totals 20 0 2 2 22

Coaching record Team Year Regular season Post season G W L OTL SOL Pts Finish ResultSPR2007–0880353555805th in AtlanticMissed playoffsTC2018–1968342851744th in U.S.Lost in first roundTC2019–2063174042405th in U.S.no playoffsTC2020–21197120014no standingsno playoffs

Awards and honours Award Year NHL Stanley Cup (Edmonton Oilers) ,