Peter Sidorkiewicz

Peter Paul Sidorkiewicz (born June 29, 1963) is a Polish-Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Sidorkiewicz played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Hartford Whalers, Ottawa Senators, and New Jersey Devils, representing the Wales Conference in the 1993 NHL All-Star Game. Since retiring as a player, Sidorkiewicz has worked as a coach for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, Dornbirner EC of the Austrian Hockey League and the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL.

Early life Sidorkiewicz was born on June 29, 1963 in Dąbrowa Białostocka, Poland, but moved to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, with his family when he was three years old. He grew up playing softball and it was not until one of his coaches suggest he try ice hockey out at the age of 10. Sidorkiewicz played minor hockey in Oshawa and won an Ontario Bantam Championship in 1977.

Junior hockey Oshawa Generals (1980–1984) Sidorkiewicz joined the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 1980–81, Sidorkiewicz saw his playing time increase during the 1981–82 season, playing in 29 games with the Generals, earning a 14–11–1 record with a 4.75 GAA. Sidorkiewicz would only see action in one playoff game, going 0–0 with a 4.62 GAA in 13 minutes of playing time. In the tournament, Sidorkiewicz had a 3–2 record with a 5.12 GAA in five games. Sidorkiewicz and fellow netminder and teammate Jeff Hogg won the Dave Pinkney Trophy in the OHL for lowest goals against average.

Sidorkiewicz returned to the Generals for the 1983–84 season, going 28–21–1 with a 5.06 GAA in 52 games with Oshawa.

Professional career

Washington Capitals (1984–1985) Sidorkiewicz was drafted by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the fifth round, 91st overall, of the 1981 NHL entry draft. Sidorkiewicz had a 4–4–2 record with a 4.37 GAA in 10 games with the Komets.

Hartford Whalers (1985–1992) When Sidorkiewicz was acquired by Hartford from Washington, he remained with the Binghamton Whalers as the two clubs shared the team. Along with Mike Liut and Steve Weeks, Sidorkiewicz was acquired by Hartford's general manager Emile Francis in an effort to rebuild the Whalers. Sidorkiewicz had an impressive 1984–85 season with Binghamton, going 31–9–5 with a 3.05 GAA in 45 games. In 1985–86, Sidorkiewicz had a 21–22–3 record with a 3.19 GAA in 49 games with Binghamton, helping the club reach the playoffs. Sidorkiewicz had a very solid 1986–87 with Binghamton, earning a 23–16–0 record in 57 games with a 2.92 GAA and a .889 save percentage. but lost to the Rochester Americans in six games in the following round. Sidorkiewicz had a 6–7 record with a 2.72 GAA in 13 games. He started for the Hartford Whalers on October 16, 1987 against the Washington Capitals in his only NHL game for the season. Sidorkiewicz made 30 saves in his NHL debut though the Whalers lost 6–2, with Bengt-Åke Gustafsson scoring twice for the Capitals.

Sidorkiewicz would stay in the NHL for good in 1988–89, as he began the season as the back-up goaltender with Hartford, playing behind Liut. On October 15, 1988, Sidorkiewicz earned his first career NHL victory, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 7–5 at the Hartford Civic Center, saving 25 of the 30 shots he faced and teammate Ron Francis picked up two goals. On December 6, 1988, Sidorkiewicz earned his first career shutout, as the Whalers crushed the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 9–0, with Kevin Dineen and Sylvain Côté each scoring twice for Hartford. Overall, in 44 games, Sidorkiewicz had a 22–18–4 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .890 save percentage, as well as four shutouts, helping the Whalers make the playoffs. Sidorkiewicz finished fourth in Calder Memorial Trophy voting and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Sidorkiewicz began the 1989–90 season splitting his playing time with Liut, who missed time with injury again. The Whalers traded Liut to the Washington Capitals just before the trade deadline on March 6, 1990, making Sidorkiewicz the undisputed number one goaltender in Hartford. In 46 games, Sidorkiewicz had a 19–19–7 record with a 3.57 GAA and .866 save percentage.

Sidorkiewicz and his backup Whitmore struggled during 1991–92 season, with Sidorkiewicz going 9–19–6 with a 3.34 GAA and a .882 save percentage in 35 games. Sidorkiewicz fell to third on the depth chart and did not dress for any of Hartford's playoff games. On June 18, 1992, Sidorkiewicz was exposed by the Whalers in the 1992 NHL expansion draft and was claimed by the Ottawa Senators with their first selection.

Ottawa Senators (1992–1993) Sidorkiewicz joined the Ottawa Senators for their first season in 1992–93 as their starting goaltender signing a three-year contract in August 1992.

New Jersey Devils (1993–1998) Initially, the Devils were unhappy with the trade. The Devils asked the NHL to review the trade after they found Sidorkiewicz's recovery from shoulder surgery had not gone properly. He saw very little action with the Devils in 1993–94, as he appeared in only three games, going 0–3–0 with a 2.77 GAA and a .891 save percentage. He had a 6–7–2 record with Albany with a 3.97 GAA in 15 games, and with the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL, in 11 games he went 6–3–0 with a 2.74 GAA and two shutouts. In 18 playoff games with the Komets, Sidorkiewicz went 10–8 with a 3.36 GAA and losing to the Atlanta Knights in the Turner Cup final.

Sidorkiewicz remained with the Komets for the 1994–95 season, going 8–6–1 with a 3.70 GAA and .879 save percentage in 16 games. In three playoff games, he went 1–2 with a 5.00 GAA. Sidorkiewicz had a 19–7–5 record with 2.95 GAA and .898 save percentage in 32 games. In one playoff game, he had a 0–1 record with a 3.05 GAA. After the season, Sidorkiewicz retired from hockey.

International play

Sidorkiewicz was named a member of the Team Canada for the 1989 IIHF World Championships in Sweden. Canada finished second to Russia, earning a silver medal.

Coaching career

Erie Otters (1999–2013) Sidorkiewicz joined the Erie Otters of the OHL in 1999, as an assistant coach and remained in this position until he was named the Otters head coach prior to the 2006–07 OHL season. In his first and only full season as the Otters head coach, Sidorkiewicz led the rebuilding club to a 15–50–3 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2007–08, Sidorkiewicz began as head coach of the team, however, he returned to his previous job as an assistant as the Otters hired Robbie Ftorek as head coach in October. Ftorek was let go by the Otters in 2012 and replaced by Kris Knoblauch who kept Sidorkiewicz on his staff until the end of the season in 2013.

Dornbirner EC (2014–2017) In August 2014, Sidorkiewicz was named assistant coach of Dornbirner EC of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL) under head coach Dave MacQueen. In the 2016–17, Sidorkiewicz was named head coach of the team while MacQueen returned to Canada following a death in the family.

Norfolk Admirals (2017–2019) Prior to the 2017–18 ECHL season, Sidorkiewicz joined the Norfolk Admirals as an assistant coach, where he was reunited with head coach Robbie Ftorek after working together while they were both part of the Erie Otters coaching staff. After the 2018–19 season concluded, both Sidorkiewicz and Ftorek were released with the arrival of new ownership.

Personal life Sidorkiewicz was named to the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Coaching record Ontario Hockey League

Awards and achievements Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team (1983) AHL Second All-Star Team (1987) NHL All-Rookie Team (1989) NHL All-Star Game (1993)

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1980–81 Oshawa Legionnaires MetJHL 22 — — — 1300 70 1 3.23 — — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Oshawa Generals OHL 7 3 3 0 308 24 0 4.68 — 5 2 2 266 20 0 4.52 — 1981–82 Oshawa Generals OHL 29 14 11 1 1553 123 2 4.75 — 1 0 0 13 1 0 4.62 — 1982–83 Oshawa Generals OHL 60 36 20 3 3536 213 0 3.61 — 17 15 1 1020 60 0 3.53 — 1982–83 Oshawa Generals MC — — — — — — — — — 5 3 2 293 25 0 5.12 — 1983–84 Oshawa Generals OHL 52 28 21 1 2966 250 1 4.15 — 7 3 4 420 27 1 3.86 — 1984–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 45 31 9 5 2691 137 3 3.05 .901 8 4 4 481 31 0 3.87 — 1984–85 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 10 4 4 2 590 43 0 4.37 — — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Binghamton Whalers AHL 49 21 22 3 2819 150 2 3.19 .883 4 1 3 235 12 0 3.06 — 1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 57 23 16 0 3304 161 4 2.92 .889 13 6 7 794 36 0 2.72 — 1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 .833 — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Binghamton Whalers AHL 42 19 17 3 2345 144 0 3.68 .878 3 0 2 147 8 0 3.27 .892 1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 44 22 18 4 2635 133 4 3.03 .890 2 0 2 124 8 0 3.87 .822 1989–90 Hartford Whalers NHL 46 19 19 7 2703 161 1 3.57 .866 7 3 4 429 23 0 3.21 .881 1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 52 21 22 7 2953 164 1 3.33 .872 6 2 4 359 24 0 4.02 .862 1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 35 9 19 6 1995 111 2 3.34 .882 — — — — — — — — 1992–93 Ottawa Senators NHL 64 8 46 3 3388 250 0 4.43 .856 — — — — — — — — 1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 3 0 3 0 130 6 0 2.77 .891 — — — — — — — — 1993–94 Albany River Rats AHL 15 6 7 2 907 60 0 3.97 .861 — — — — — — — — 1993–94 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 11 6 3 0 591 27 2 2.74 .912 18 10 8 1054 59 1 3.36 .889 1994–95 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 16 8 6 1 941 58 1 3.70 .879 3 1 2 144 12 0 5.00 .846 1995–96 Albany River Rats AHL 32 19 7 5 1809 89 3 2.95 .898 1 0 1 59 3 0 3.06 .875 1996–97 Albany River Rats AHL 62 31 23 6 3539 171 2 2.90 .901 16 7 8 920 48 0 3.13 .892 1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .875 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Albany River Rats AHL 43 21 15 5 2422 115 3 2.85 .896 2 1 1 89 6 0 4.01 .813 AHL totals 345 171 116 29 19,836 1027 17 3.11 .891 47 19 26 2725 144 0 3.17 — NHL totals 246 79 128 27 13,884 832 8 3.60 .871 15 5 10 912 55 0 3.62 .867

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA 1989 Canada WC 1 0 0 0 25 0 0 0.00