Mike Blaisdell

Mike Blaisdell
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
Nickname(s)	Blaiser
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Teams	NHL Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs Minors Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) Tulsa Oilers (CHL) New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) Newmarket Saints (AHL) Albany Choppers (IHL) Other Schwenninger ERC (DEL) Durham Wasps (BHL) Nottingham Panthers (BHL) Sheffield Steelers (BISL)
Nationality	Canada
Born	(1960-01-18)January 18, 1960, Moose Jaw, SK, CAN
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1980 Detroit Red Wings
Pro Career	1980 – 2001

Mike Walter Blaisdell (born January 18, 1960 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a retired professional right winger who played in the NHL and later in the BHL. He was selected 1st (11th overall) in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Blaisdell most recently was the head coach of the 2003–04 British Elite Ice Hockey League Champions, the Sheffield Steelers.

Professional career

Minor league hockey and college

Blaisdell joined the Regina Pats of the WCHL (renamed the WHL the following season) for the end of the regular season and throughout the playoffs. In the final six games of the season, Blaisdell knocked in 5 goals with 5 assists to end the regular season with 10 points and a 1.66 points per game average. He continued to help add points in the playoffs, but the Pats didn't make it past the semi-finals. The following season, Blaisdell joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison hockey team before returning to the Pats for the 1979–80 WHL season where the Pats finished first in the league but faltered in the playoffs.

The NHL comes calling

In the 1980 NHL Entry Draft the Detroit Red Wings decided to pick Blaisdell with their 11th overall pick. They placed him in their farm team the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL and instantly saw his potential. After just 41 games, Blaisdell was called up to play for the Red Wings full time. In the 1981–82 season, Blaisdell really started to feel comfortable in the league and formed a solid unit with Mark Kirton and Paul Woods. He scored 23 goals and ended with 55 points that season as the Red Wings once again failed to reach the playoffs. He continued to chip in goals for the Red Wings and on June 13, 1983 was involved in a large trade to the New York Rangers with Willie Huber and Mark Osborne for Ron Duguay, Eddie Mio and Eddie Johnstone.

Most of Blaisdell's time with the Rangers was spent in and out of their farm teams; the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League and the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL. After failing to find a role in the organization, he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 7, 1985. He scored 15 goals and played some his best two-way hockey during the 1985–86 season but his playing time decreased the next year while splitting time with Pittsburgh's farm team the Baltimore Skipjacks. After that season, Blaisdell was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 10, 1987 and only played in 27 games for the Leafs for the following two years which would be his last in the National Hockey League.

International play

Blaisdell decided this time would be better spent on the Canadian National Team during the 1990–91 season. Part-way through, he changed his mind and decided to see what else was out there. He joined the roster of Schwenninger ERC in West Germany's Bundesliga for three games and then the Albany Choppers of the IHL before heading across the pond joining the Durham Wasps of the British Hockey League where he instantly became a fans favourite. There he went on to score a record-breaking 74 goals in 1991–92 leading the Wasps to the second of their back-to-back championships. Blaisdell added 41 points the following season before deciding to try his hand at coaching with the Nottingham Panthers. After coaching for half the year, Blaisdell felt he still offered more when he was on the ice and decided to return to doing what he knew best; scoring goals. In the 1995–96 season, Blaisdell scored 35 goals to finish with 81 points on the season. Blaisdell slowly drew away from the league (by then called the Ice Hockey Superleague), but would continue to play in a few games here and there until 2001 when he played his last four games for the Sheffield Steelers before retiring.

Blaisdell is arguably one of the greatest ice hockey players to have ever played in Great Britain, with few players ever since, coming close to matching his 343 NHL games and 154 NHL points.

Coach Blaisdell

Blaisdell again returned to coaching in the 2001–02 season with the team he last stepped on the ice for, the Sheffield Steelers. He slowly learned what it took to coach a professional team over the next three years and finished the 2003–04 season with a record of 44–8–3 and a 0.821 win percentage. He lead the Steelers to the league's best record and won the League Championship before retiring from hockey.

Awards

• Ice Hockey Journalists UK British Coach of the Year in 1994–95, 2000–01, 2002–03 and 2003–04.
• Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
• Inducted to the Sheffield Steelers Hall of Fame in 2006.

Career statistics

Player

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1980–81	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		41	10	4	14	8		12	2	2	4	5
1980–81	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		32	3	6	9	10		-	-	-	-	-
1981–82	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		80	23	32	55	48		-	-	-	-	-
1982–83	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		80	18	23	41	22		-	-	-	-	-
1983–84	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		32	10	8	18	23		9	6	6	12	6
1983–84	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		36	5	6	11	31		-	-	-	-	-
1984–85	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		64	21	23	44	41		-	-	-	-	-
1984–85	New York Rangers	NHL		12	1	0	1	11		-	-	-	-	-
1985–86	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		66	15	14	29	36		-	-	-	-	-
1986–87	Baltimore Skipjacks	AHL		43	12	12	24	47		-	-	-	-	-
1986–87	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		10	1	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-
1987–88	Newmarket Saints	AHL		57	28	28	56	30		-	-	-	-	-
1987–88	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		18	3	2	5	2		6	1	2	3	10
1988–89	Newmarket Saints	AHL		40	16	7	23	48		-	-	-	-	-
1988–89	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		9	1	0	1	4		-	-	-	-	-
1989–90	Canadian National Team	Intl		50	12	18	30	40
1989–90	Schwenninger ERC	Bund		3	1	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-
1990–91	Albany Choppers	IHL		6	2	0	2	0		-	-	-	-	-
1990–91	Durham Wasps	BHL		18	36	35	71	114		-	-	-	-	-
1991–92	Durham Wasps	BHL		36	74	52	126	86		-	-	-	-	-
1992–93	Durham Wasps	BHL		13	23	18	41	46		-	-	-	-	-
1994–95	Nottingham Panthers	BHL		11	7	10	17	60		-	-	-	-	-
1995–96	Nottingham Panthers	BHL		52	35	46	81	124		-	-	-	-	-
1996–97	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		7	2	2	4	6		-	-	-	-	-
1998–99	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		3	0	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-
2000–01	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		4	0	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-
NHL totals				343	70	84	154	166		6	1	2	3	10

Coach

				Regular season
Season	Team	League		G	W	L	T	OTL	PCT	Finished		Playoffs
1993–94	Nottingham Panthers	BHL		44	26	16	2	-	.591	5th		Semi-final
1994–95	Nottingham Panthers	BHL		44	32	8	4	-	.727	2nd		Semi-final
1995–96	Nottingham Panthers	BHL		36	19	12	4	-	.528	4th		Runners up
1996–97	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		44	21	20	1	2	.477	4th		Runners up
1997–98	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		44	22	18	4	0	.500	5th		Preliminary Round Group A
1998–99	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		42	25	14	1	2	.595	3rd		Runners up
1999–00	Nottingham Panthers	BISL		???	???	???	???	???	???	-		-
1999–00	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		???	???	???	???	???	???	1st		Semi-final
2000–01	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		48	35	9	0	4	.729	1st		Winners
2001–02	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		48	18	18	12	0	.375	3rd		Winners
2002–03	Sheffield Steelers	BISL		32	18	8	5	1	.563	1st		Semi-final
2003–04	Sheffield Steelers	EIHL		56	44	8	3	1	.786	1st		Winners
2005–06	Nottingham Panthers	EIHL		42	23	11	6	2	.548	3rd		Preliminary Round Group B

The 1966-67 Regina "Tom Thumb" champions. Mike Blaisdell is on the far right in the front row.

External links

• Mike Blaisdell's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• British Hockey Hall of Fame entry

Awards
Preceded by John Lawless Dave Whistle Dave Whistle	BIHWA Coach of the Year 1994–95 2000–01 2002–03, 2003–04	Succeeded by Paul Heavey Dave Whistle Paul Thompson
Sporting positions
Preceded by Mike Foligno	Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick 1980	Succeeded by Murray Craven
Preceded by Kevin Murphy	Nottingham Panthers Head Coach 1993–99	Succeeded by Alex Dampier
Preceded by Don McKee	Sheffield Steelers Head Coach 1999–04	Succeeded by Rob Stewart
Preceded by Paul Adey	Nottingham Panthers Head Coach 2005–06	Succeeded by Mike Ellis