Steve Ludzik

Stephen Paul Ludzik (born April 3, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach who has worked as a television analyst for The Score television network. He played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres between 1981 and 1990. He later coached the Tampa Bay Lightning between 1999 and 2001, and also spent several years coaching in the minor leagues.

Biography As a youth, Ludzik played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Toronto.

He had a distinguished junior career with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey League, amassing 125 goals and 233 assists, for a total of 358 points. This broke the career point total record for the Flyers, which still stands today. He was subsequently named to the Flyers' All-Time Five Man All-Star Team.

He was drafted 28th overall by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. After one more year of junior hockey, Ludzik turned pro in 1981–82. He split that season between the Black Hawks and the American Hockey League's New Brunswick Hawks. The next season, he became a Black Hawk regular.

Ludzik played with the Black Hawks until the 1988–89 season. Except for 11 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 1989–90, he spent the rest of his playing career in the minors. He played in a total of 424 NHL games and scored 46 goals and 93 assists.

Coaching After retiring as a player, Ludzik turned to coaching, starting in the IHL with the Muskegon Fury and then the Detroit Vipers, where he won the 1996–97 Turner Cup with General Manager Rick Dudley. He then spent two years as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was let go after the 2000–01 season. He subsequently went to the OHL as head coach of the Mississauga IceDogs, and then to the AHL, where he ended his coaching career in 2004–05 with the San Antonio Rampage.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1977–78 Markham Waxers OJPHL 31 30 20 50 15 — — — — — 1978–79 Niagara Falls Flyers OMJHL 68 32 65 97 138 20 7 17 24 48 1979–80 Niagara Falls Flyers OMJHL 67 43 76 119 102 10 6 6 12 16 1980–81 Niagara Falls Flyers OHL 58 50 92 142 108 12 5 9 14 40 1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 8 2 1 3 2 — — — — — 1981–82 New Brunswick Hawks AHL 73 21 41 62 142 15 3 7 10 6 1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 66 6 19 25 63 13 3 5 8 20 1983–84 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 80 9 20 29 73 4 0 1 1 9 1984–85 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 79 11 20 31 86 15 1 1 2 16 1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 49 6 5 11 21 3 0 0 0 12 1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 52 5 12 17 34 4 0 0 0 0 1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 73 6 15 21 40 5 0 1 1 13 1988–89 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 1 0 1 8 — — — — — 1988–89 Saginaw Hawks IHL 65 21 57 78 129 6 0 1 1 16 1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 1989–90 Rochester Americans AHL 54 25 29 54 71 16 5 6 11 57 1990–91 Rochester Americans AHL 65 22 29 51 137 8 3 5 8 6 1991–92 Rochester Americans AHL 45 6 22 28 88 14 2 1 3 8 1992–93 EK Zell am See AUT 51 17 36 53 64 — — — — — NHL totals 424 46 93 139 333 44 4 8 12 70

NHL coaching career Team Year Regular season Post season G W L T OTL Pts Division rank ResultTampa Bay Lightning 1999–00 82 19 47 9 7 54 4th in Southeast Missed playoffsTampa Bay Lightning 2000–01 39 12 20 5 2 29 5th in Southeast firedTotal 123 31 67 14 9

Other leagues Team Year League Regular season Postseason G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result Muskegon Fury 1993–94 CoHL 64 35 24 5 — 75 2nd in West 0 3 Lost in Quarterfinals Muskegon Fury 1994–95 CoHL 74 42 27 5 — 89 2nd in West 10 6 Lost in Colonial Cup Final Detroit Vipers 1996–97 IHL 82 57 17 — 8 122 1st in North 15 6 Won Turner Cup Detroit Vipers 1997–98 IHL 82 47 20 — 15 109 1st in Northeast 14 9 Lost in Turner Cup Final Detroit Vipers 1998–99 IHL 82 50 21 — 11 111 1st in Northeast 6 5 Lost in Semifinals Mississauga IceDogs 2002–03 OHL 68 23 31 11 3 60 4th in Central 1 4 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals San Antonio Rampage 2003–04 AHL 12 8 3 1 — 17 Named Florida Panthers assistant coach — — — — San Antonio Rampage 2004–05 AHL 80 27 45 — 8 62 6th in West — — — Missed playoffs

Broadcasting and publishing Since coaching, Ludzik has been a hockey pundit on television, most notably on The Score Television Network. He also co-authored a book, entitled "Been There, Done That". Ludzik also cohosts a weekend program on CKTB in St Catharines.

Parkinson's disease Ludzik came public in 2012 that he has Parkinson's disease and was diagnosed in 2000.