Mike McHugh

Michael McHugh (born August 16, 1965) is an American former ice hockey left wing. He played 20 games in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks from 1988 to 1991. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1988 to 1998, was spent in the minor leagues. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars with the first pick in the 1988 NHL Supplemental Draft.

Playing career After playing four seasons at the University of Maine, McHugh made his professional debut with the American Hockey League's Maine Mariners, appearing in one game at the end of the 1987–88 season. His first full season of professional hockey was 1988–89, during which he played in 70 games with the International Hockey League's Kalamazoo Wings and three NHL games with the North Stars.

After two more seasons spent mostly with Kalamazoo, with a few appearances with the North Stars, McHugh joined the expansion San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Dispersal Draft. He appeared in eight games with the Sharks during their inaugural season of 1991–92, and tallied his first and only NHL goal as a Shark. This was his last NHL experience.

Though his NHL career was brief, McHugh became a star in the American Hockey League. In seven AHL seasons with the Springfield Indians and Hershey Bears, he scored 143 goals and added 239 assists. He was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as MVP of the 1997 Calder Cup playoffs, as he scored nine goals and seven assists while leading Hershey to the AHL Championship.

In his brief NHL career, McHugh appeared in 20 games. His one goal scored in 1991–92 was his lone NHL point.

Post-playing career McHugh currently lives in Hershey, Pennsylvania with his wife; they have two daughters.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1983–84 New Hampton School HS-Prep 21 24 22 46 — — — — — — 1984–85 University of Maine HE 25 9 8 17 9 — — — — — 1985–86 University of Maine HE 38 9 10 19 24 — — — — — 1986–87 University of Maine HE 42 21 29 50 40 — — — — — 1987–88 University of Maine HE 44 29 37 66 90 — — — — — 1987–88 Maine Mariners AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1988–89 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 70 17 29 46 89 6 3 1 4 17 1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1989–90 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 73 14 17 31 96 10 0 6 6 16 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1990–91 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 69 27 38 65 82 11 3 8 11 6 1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 8 1 0 1 14 — — — — — 1991–92 Springfield Indians AHL 70 23 31 54 51 11 4 7 11 25 1992–93 Springfield Indians AHL 67 19 27 46 111 11 5 2 7 12 1993–94 Hershey Bears AHL 80 27 43 70 58 11 9 3 12 14 1994–95 Hershey Bears AHL 68 24 26 50 102 6 3 2 5 6 1995–96 Hershey Bears AHL 75 15 42 57 118 5 2 2 4 2 1996–97 Hershey Bears AHL 77 23 45 68 135 23 9 7 16 33 1997–98 Hershey Bears AHL 66 12 25 37 143 7 1 1 2 26 AHL totals 504 143 239 382 718 74 33 24 57 118 NHL totals 20 1 0 1 16 — — — — —

Awards and honors Award Year Hockey East All-Tournament Team 1987, 1988 All-Hockey East First Team 1987–88 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1987–88 AHL Jack A. Butterfield Trophy 1997