Edward Dario Mio (born January 31, 1954) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) for the

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are ...

and

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

between 1977 and 1979, and in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the Oilers,

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, and Detroit Red Wings between 1979 and 1986.

Playing career

Mio attended

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

from 1972 to 76. During that time, he established himself as a standout, winning first- and second-team all-star awards and making the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

West first all-American team two years in a row. In 1974, the

's (NHL) Chicago Black Hawks and the

's (WHA) Vancouver Blazers both drafted him. He played for neither club, wending his way instead through the minor leagues with the

Tidewater Sharks The Tidewater Sharks were a minor league professional ice hockey team, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and members of the Southern Hockey League from 1975 to 1977. The Sharks played home games at the Norfolk Scope, and shared the Hampton Roads area wi ...

Erie Blades The Erie Blades name was used by two professional ice hockey teams in Erie, Pennsylvania. Both teams played their home games in the Erie County Field House. After the second Blades team folded, the void was filled by the Erie Golden Blades, a te ...

, and

Hampton Gulls The Hampton Gulls were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Hampton, Virginia, from 1974 to 1978 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Gulls played three seasons in the Southern Hockey League, beginning in 1974. When that league folded in ...

until he surfaced with the

of the WHA. With the Racers, Mio's goaltending was rough, but the most meaningful event of his career occurred when he met his lifelong friend,

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. Shortly after their meeting, Mio was part of the trade that sent Gretzky (along with

Peter Driscoll Peter Driscoll (born October 27, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing who played in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League between 1974 and 1981. He was born in Powassan, Ontario. Selected by the Toron ...

) to the

on November 2, 1978.The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.219, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, When the Oilers moved to the NHL for the 1979–80 season, Mio got his first NHL action, part of the young, highly talented lineup that included Gretzky, Mark Messier,

Kevin Lowe Kevin Hugh Lowe (born April 15, 1959) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive, former coach and former player. Lowe was the vice-chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group until his retirement on August 2nd, 2022 (behind only Glen Sather in ...

Glenn Anderson Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...

and Paul Coffey. Mio had his first winning season in 1980–81 before being traded to the

. In New York, Mio backstopped the Rangers for two seasons before rounding out his career with the Detroit Red Wings in 1985–86.

Post-hockey

Mio was Wayne Gretzky's best man at his wedding to

Janet Jones Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

. Mio was a player agent with International Management Group, representing

Sergei Fedorov Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). During his playing career, for which he is best known fo ...

, Joe Thornton and Brent Johnson. In 2005, Mio became the director of player development for the Phoenix Coyotes. In 2010, having left the NHL, Mio considered running for mayor in his hometown of

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

. At the

2014 NHL Winter Classic The 2014 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated t ...

, Mio played an exhibition game with the Detroit Red Wings alumni team, splitting time with

Kevin Hodson Kevin Hodson (born March 27, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Hodson played professionally in the NHL and AHL before ending his playing career in the Finnish SM-liiga in 2003–04. Hodson suffered from Wolff ...

in a winning effort against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

alumni team. Mio has a daughter named Katya who was born April 30, 1988. He also has twin sons Grant and Edward Riordon who were born in 2000.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Eddie Mio @ hockeygoalies.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mio, Eddie 1954 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Arizona Coyotes executives Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian people of Italian descent Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey players Dallas Black Hawks players Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Edmonton Oilers players Hampton Gulls (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Ontario Indianapolis Racers players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario Tidewater Sharks players Vancouver Blazers draft picks Wichita Wind players