Thomas James Lysiak (April 22, 1953 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian 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 ...

player. Selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

, he was additionally selected by the Houston Aeros in the second round of the

1973 WHA Amateur Draft The 1973 WHA Amateur Draft was the first draft for the World Hockey Association. __NOTOC__ Selections by round Below are listed the selections in the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 R ...

at 23rd overall. In each of his last two seasons with the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

, Lysiak was awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy as the Western Canadian Hockey League's leading scorer, with a total of 297 points in 135 games.

Playing career

Lysiak joined the Flames for the 1973–74 NHL season, the second year for the franchise, and scored a team-high 64 points. He helped the team to its first playoff berth and finished second in the voting for the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

(top rookie). Lysiak led the Flames in scoring in each of his five full seasons with the team and represented the Flames in three consecutive

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

s, in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. He served as the Flames'

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, but he was traded to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in an unpopular multiplayer deal midway through the 1978–79 season. Eight players were involved in the trade, the biggest trade numbers-wise in NHL history at the time. He is the Atlanta Flames' all-time leader for assists with 276 and points with 431 and ranks second in

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

with 155. He had 21 two-goal games with the Flames and one hat trick. Lysiak played seven full seasons for Chicago and in 1980–81 led the team in scoring with 76 points, including a career-high 55 assists. The next season, 1981–82, he matched his top point-scoring season in Atlanta with 82 points and scored a career-high 32 goals. On October 30, 1983, while a member of the Black Hawks, Lysiak tripped linesman Ron Foyt during a game against the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

. For the incident, the NHL imposed a 20-game suspension, one of the longest in league history.

Personal life

After his retirement, Lysiak worked in the landscaping, real estate and construction industries in the Atlanta area. In 2012, Lysiak was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. His daughter Jessica competed on Season 4 of the US version of ''

MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

'' in 2013, finishing in 3rd place. She is married to

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

defenseman Justin Braun. Lysiak died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

in Atlanta, Georgia on May 30, 2016 at age 63, three years after he had been diagnosed with the disease in May 2013.Cain, Brandon M
''Former Blackhawk Tom Lysiak dies of Leukemia at 63''
SB Nation, May 30, 2016 He is related to

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

Cale Makar Cale Douglas Makar (born October 30, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Avalanche in the 2017 NHL Entry Dr ...

, as his cousin Gary is Makar’s father.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy The Bob Clarke Trophy is awarded annually to the player who leads the Western Hockey League in points scoring during the regular season. In both years Bob Clarke played in the WHL, he captured the League scoring title. In 1968-69, Clarke’s Flin ...

(WCHL leading scorer) - 1972 & 1973 * WCHL First All-Star Team – 1972 * WCHL All-Star Team – 1973

References

External links

*
1973 NHL Amateur Draft -- Tom Lysiak
* "Lysiak Penalty Upheld." New York Times. 9 December 1983. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lysiak, Tom 1953 births 2016 deaths American people of Polish descent Atlanta Flames captains Atlanta Flames draft picks Atlanta Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks players Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from leukemia Houston Aeros draft picks Ice hockey people from Alberta Medicine Hat Tigers players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Big Lakes County