Mike Pelyk

Michael Joseph Pelyk (born September 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 441 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 150 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1967 and 1978. He played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Blazers, and Cincinnati Stingers.

Playing career

Pelyk attended Michael Power/St. Joseph High School in Etobicoke, Ontario. Although a gifted skater, Pelyk struggled with inconsistency early in his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the 1973–74 season he seemed to be finally reaching his potential, leading Leaf defencemen with 12 goals, when he was lured away from the Leafs with a million-dollar contact to the Vancouver Blazers of the WHA. However, he was never quite able to return to the potential shown in the 1973–74 season either in his two years in the WHA, or with his return to the NHL with the Maple Leafs in 1976. After two years alternating between the NHL and CHL, he retired in 1978.

Pelyk was captain of the WHA Cincinnati Stingers for the 1975–76 season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1964–65 Westclair York Steel MetJBHL 25 2 21 23 — — — — — — 1965–66 York Steel MetJBHL — — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Toronto Marlboros OHA 17 0 3 3 20 — — — — — 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros OHA 48 2 18 20 146 17 3 10 13 35 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 9 0 4 4 37 1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 24 0 3 3 55 — — — — — 1967–68 Tulsa Oilers CHL 47 0 16 16 131 — — — — — 1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 3 9 12 146 4 0 0 0 8 1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 36 1 3 4 37 — — — — — 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 5 21 26 54 6 0 0 0 10 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 46 1 4 5 44 5 0 0 0 8 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 3 16 19 118 — — — — — 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 71 12 19 31 94 4 0 0 0 4 1974–75 Vancouver Blazers WHA 75 14 26 40 121 — — — — — 1975–76 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 75 10 23 33 117 — — — — — 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 13 0 2 2 4 9 0 2 2 4 1976–77 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 62 9 26 35 73 — — — — — 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 41 1 11 12 14 12 0 1 1 7 1977–78 Tulsa Oilers CHL 32 2 12 14 35 — — — — — WHA totals 150 24 49 73 238 — — — — — NHL totals 441 26 88 114 566 40 0 3 3 41