James John Krulicki (born March 9, 1948) is a Canadian retired

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played 41 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for the

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

and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

during the 1970–71 season.

Professional career

Minor league hockey

Krulicki grew up playing for his hometown

Kitchener Greenshirts The Kitchener Greenshirts name has been used by five separate ice hockey teams playing in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. These include one 'Senior A' level hockey team, two 'Junior A' level teams, and two 'Junior B' level teams. The name has also b ...

and

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

, while a prospect of the

. Krulicki recorded back-to-back 20 goal seasons in 1966–67 and 1967–68, scoring 25 and 28 goals respectively, for a total of 108 points over those two seasons. In 1968 he turned professional with the

Omaha Knights Omaha Knights may refer to: * Omaha Knights (AHA) an ice hockey team that played from (1939–1942) in the American Hockey Association and from (1945–1951) in the United States Hockey League * Omaha Knights (IHL) an ice hockey team that played ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. In his first season with the Knights he scored nine points, but followed that up in 1969–70 with a 28 point campaign. He helped the Knights reach first place in the regular season and win the Adams Cup as league champions of the playoffs. After scoring 12 points in the 12 game playoff run, Krulicki was called up to the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

for their playoff run. He scored another five points as the Bisons reached the finals and won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

after defeating the

Springfield Kings Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queensl ...

four games to zero. Krulicki had just helped win championships for two different teams and had finally earned his chance at the NHL.

NHL career

Krulicki started the 1970–71 season with the New York Rangers. He recorded 2 assists in 27 games for the Rangers before being traded to the

on March 2, 1971, for Dale Rolfe. Krulicki finished the season with Detroit scoring one assist. He opted to retire at the conclusion of the 1970–71 season. He came back to play one final season with

Wiener EV Wiener Eislaufverein (Wiener EV, WEV; Vienna Ice Skating Club) is an ice-sports club located in Vienna, Austria. They were founded in 1867 and the club's greatest successes have been in ice hockey, figure skating, and speed skating Speed sk ...

in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It c ...

during the 1972–73 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards

*Adams Cup Champion: 1969–70 (Omaha Knights – CHL) *Calder Cup Champion: 1969–70 (Buffalo Bisons – AHL)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krulicki, Jim 1948 births Living people Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Detroit Red Wings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Kitchener Rangers players New York Rangers players Ice hockey people from Kitchener, Ontario 20th-century Canadian sportsmen