Rocky Saganiuk

Rocky Ray Saganiuk (born October 15, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 259 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career Born in Myrnam, Alberta, Saganiuk played junior hockey for the Kamloops Chiefs and Lethbridge Broncos. He was drafted in 1977 by the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Saganiuk signed with the Maple Leafs and made his professional debut in 1977 with the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League, a farm team of the Maple Leafs. He had an outstanding season for the New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1978–79, for which he won the Les Cunningham Award as the most valuable player of the 1978–79 AHL season.

He played the next three seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, from 1979 to 1982, scoring 24 goals and 47 points in his best season.. Before the 1983–84 season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He only played one season with the Penguins, playing in only 29 games.

Post-playing career After retiring from the NHL due to injuries, Saganiuk helped develop hockey in Britain as a player-coach with both Ayr Bruins and Peterborough Pirates. He also had spells as coach of the Durham Wasps, Murrayfield Racers and Blackburn Hawks.

Saganiuk returned to North America, first as a coach in the WHL, and then as a youth hockey director in Chicago. Saganiuk is currently a youth hockey director in the Pittsburgh area, working as the Local Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Learn to Play program.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1974–75 Taber Golden Suns AJHL 50 21 32 53 124 — — — — — 1975–76 Taber Golden Suns AJHL 49 42 32 74 169 — — — — — 1975–76 Kamloops Chiefs WCHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1975–76 Lethbridge Broncos WCHL 6 2 1 3 0 5 2 1 3 6 1976–77 Lethbridge Broncos WCHL 72 60 48 108 203 15 6 5 11 21 1977–78 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 42 16 13 29 71 — — — — — 1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 16 3 5 8 9 3 1 0 1 5 1978–79 New Brunswick Hawks AHL 61 47 29 76 91 — — — — — 1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 24 23 47 52 3 0 0 0 10 1980–81 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 71 12 18 30 52 — — — — — 1981–82 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 17 16 33 49 — — — — — 1982–83 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1982–83 St. Catharines Saints AHL 61 26 23 49 83 — — — — — 1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 29 1 3 4 37 — — — — — 1983–84 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 5 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1984–85 St. Catharines Saints AHL 4 1 1 2 11 — — — — — 1986–87 Brantford Motts Clamatos OHA-Sr. 33 21 22 43 55 — — — — — 1987–88 Ayr Bruins GBR 14 19 20 39 50 — — — — — 1988–89 Ayr Bruins GBR 8 8 8 16 32 — — — — — 1991–92 Peterborough Pirates GBR 4 6 4 10 2 — — — — — 1993–94 Murrayfield Racers GBR 3 4 3 7 4 — — — — — 1994–95 Durham Wasps GBR 2 1 2 3 6 — — — — — NHL totals 259 57 65 122 201 6 1 0 1 15 AHL totals 131 75 54 129 185 — — — — — GBR totals 31 38 37 75 94 — — — — —