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Mike Krushelnyski

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Mike Krushelnyski
Born (1960-04-27) April 27, 1960 (age 64)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
NHL draft 120th overall, 1979
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1980–1996

Michael "Krusher" Krushelnyski (born April 27, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre/left winger who played 14 years in the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing in the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups as a player with the Edmonton Oilers and one as an Assistant Coach with the Detroit Red Wings. In a career of 897 games, Krushelnyski recorded 241 goals and 328 assists for 569 career points. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in LaSalle, Quebec.

He is the father of the former ice hockey forward Alexander Krushelnyski.[1]

Playing career

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As a youth, Krushelnyski played in the 1973 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from LaSalle, Quebec.[2] After being selected by the Boston Bruins in the 6th round, 120th overall, in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Krushelnyski played for the Springfield Indians and the Erie Blades in the American Hockey League (AHL).[3]

Krushelnyski made his NHL debut on October 24, 1981, against the Montreal Canadiens.[4] During the 1984–85 offseason, the Bruins traded Krushelnyski to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ken Linseman.[5] While playing left wing on the Oilers top line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, Krushelnyski finished fourth on the team in scoring as he recorded a new career-high 43 goals and 88 points.[6]

Krushelnyski won three Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in 1985, 1987 and 1988. Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley were part of the 1988 trade in which Wayne Gretzky (who had personally requested McSorley and Krushelnyski to be part of the trade) was sent to the Los Angeles Kings for two players, draft picks and cash.[7] He later played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings before retiring after the 1995 season.

He is best remembered for scoring an overtime goal as a member of the Kings that eliminated the heavily favoured and defending Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames from the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs in the sixth game of the Smythe Division Semifinal (leading in part to his former team, the Oilers, winning another Stanley Cup at the end of that play-off season).[8][9] Krushelnyski chipped the puck over Flames goaltender Mike Vernon at 3:14 of the second overtime while lying flat on the ice after being knocked down during a goalmouth scramble. CBC Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert called this goal in a dramatic fashion:

Granato shot – Krushelnyski to the net, and Vernon again made the save. Back it comes Duchesne shooting, Vernon kicks that out; rebound – THEY SCORE!!!!

Post-retirement

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After retiring, Krushelnyski was an assistant coach with Detroit when they won the Stanley Cup in 1997,[10] but left after winning his fourth championship to become head coach of the Central Hockey League's Fort Worth Fire, a post he held until the team folded in 1999.

He coached the Vityaz Chekhov, in the Kontinental Hockey League, for the 2006-07 season and from November 2008 to December 2009.[11] In between his two stints with the KHL, he was coach of the Ingolstadt Panthers, in Germany's top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

In 2013, Krushelnyski competed in the 4th season of CBC's figure skating reality show Battle of the Blades.[12] He was voted out on October 7, losing to Oksana Kazakova and Vladimir Malakhov.[13]

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 46 15 29 44 42 11 3 4 7 8
1979–80 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 72 39 60 99 78 6 2 3 5 2
1980–81 Springfield Indians AHL 80 25 28 53 47 7 1 1 2 29
1981–82 Erie Blades AHL 62 31 52 83 44 — — — — —
1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 17 3 3 6 2 1 0 0 0 2
1982–83 Boston Bruins NHL 79 23 42 65 43 17 8 6 14 12
1983–84 Boston Bruins NHL 66 25 20 45 55 2 0 0 0 0
1984–85 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 43 45 88 60 18 5 8 13 22
1985–86 Edmonton Oilers NHL 54 16 24 40 22 10 4 5 9 16
1986–87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 16 35 51 67 21 3 4 7 18
1987–88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 76 20 27 47 64 19 4 6 10 12
1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 26 36 62 110 11 1 4 5 4
1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 63 16 25 41 50 10 1 3 4 12
1990–91 Los Angeles Kings NHL 15 1 5 6 10 — — — — —
1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 59 17 22 39 48 — — — — —
1991–92 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 9 15 24 72 — — — — —
1992–93 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 84 19 20 39 62 16 3 7 10 8
1993–94 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 54 5 6 11 28 6 0 0 0 0
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 20 2 3 5 6 8 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Cape Breton Oilers AHL 50 16 25 41 78 — — — — —
1996–97 HC Milano Saima ITA 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 897 241 328 569 699 139 29 43 72 106

References

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  1. ^ "Phantoms Sign Krushelnyski" (Press release). American Hockey League. August 17, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2019.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). publicationsports.com. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-11.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Marton, Yvonne (April 24, 2015). "My first car: Go big or go home, believes hockey great Mike Krushelnyski, a.k.a. 'Krusher'". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "1979 NHL Draft Pick". hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Soria, Rob (May 27, 2014). "Oilers History: The Importance of Ken Linseman". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  6. ^ "Oilers Fly with Krushelnyski ar Wing". The New York Times. May 31, 1985. p. A19. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Dillman, Lisa (August 7, 2013). "The Wayne Gretzky trade: How great was that?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Springer, Steve (April 15, 1990). "Kings Clinch in Overtime, 4-3 : NHL playoffs: Flames, defending Stanley Cup champions, are eliminated on goal by Krushelnyski in second extra period". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Springer, Steve (April 16, 1990). "Overtime Was Right for Kings : Hockey: Krushelnyski wondered what the excitement was about after his goal in second extra period". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Robinson, Peter (June 15, 2017). "Krusher's big heart keeps him coming back". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Malik, George (November 8, 2008). "Krushelnyski heads back to Russia". MLive.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "Former NHLers Scott Thornton and Mike Krushelnyski on 'Battle of the Blades'". The Hockey News. September 15, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  13. ^ Myles, Ruth (October 7, 2013). "Mike Krushelnyski was 'holding on for dear life' on Battle of the Blades". Calgary Herald. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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