Mike Blaisdell

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. 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. 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).

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 and later attended the University of North Dakota.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs 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 WHL Second All-Star Team – 1980 AHL Calder Cup in 1981 (Adirondack Red Wings) CHL Championship Adams Cup in 1984 (Tulsa Oilers) Great Britain Championship: 1991, 1992 (Durham) 2001 (Sheffield) (as head coach), 2002 (Sheffield) (as head coach) Ice Hockey Journalists UK Coach of the Year in 1994–95, 2000–01, 2002–03 and 2003–04 Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 Inducted to the Sheffield Steelers Hall of Fame in 2006