Michael Walter Blaisdell (born January 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional

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 who played 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 ...

(NHL) between 1980 and 1989 and later in the British Hockey League (BHL) from 1990 to 2001. He was selected 11th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by 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 ...

. Blaisdell later worked as a coach in the United Kingdom.

Professional career

Amateur and college hockey

Blaisdell was born in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and raised in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. In 1978, Blaisdell joined the Regina Pats of the WCHL (later the WHL for the end of the 1977-78 regular season and the playoffs. In the final six games of the season, Blaisdell scored 5 goals and 5 assists, for 10 points and a 1.66 points per game average. He added 11 points in 13 playoff games. The following season, Blaisdell played 20 games at

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

before returning to the Pats for the 1979–80 WHL season.

NHL career

In the 1980 NHL Entry Draft the

took Blaisdell with their 11th overall pick. They placed him in their farm team the

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nati ...

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 ...

(AHL) and instantly saw his potential. After just 41 games, Blaisdell was called up to play for Detroit. In the 1981–82 season, Blaisdell formed a solid unit with Mark Kirton and Paul Woods. He scored 23 goals and ended with 55 points that season but the Red Wings 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

(CHL) and the

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers (19 ...

of the AHL. He won the 1983-84 CHL Championship (Adams Cup) as a member of the Tulsa Oilers team coached by Tom Webster. Due to bankruptcy, the Oilers suspended operations on February 16, 1984, and the team played only road games for final six weeks of 1983-84 season. Despite this adversity, the team went on to win the league's championship. Blaisdell played in all nine playoff games, and lead the team in both goals (6 - tied with Bob Scurfield) and points (12 - tied with Gary Burns). After failing to find a role in the organization, he was claimed in the 1985 NHL Waiver Draft by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

on October 7, 1985. He scored 15 goals and played some of 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 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

on July 10, 1987 but 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 played with the Canadian National Team during the 1990–91 season. Partway through, he changed his mind and decided to look for other opportunities. He joined the roster of Schwenninger ERC in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Eishockey-Bundesliga The Eishockey-Bundesliga ("Federal Ice Hockey League") was formed in 1958 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany, replacing the '' Oberliga'' in this position.Klein, p. 12 From the 1994–95 season, it was in turn re ...

for three games and then the Albany Choppers of the International Hockey League (IHL) before heading back to Europe, joining the Durham Wasps of the British Hockey League where he instantly became a fan favourite. 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 coaching with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...

. After coaching for half the year, Blaisdell felt he still offered more when he was on the ice. 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 until 2001 when he played his last four games for the Sheffield Steelers before retiring.

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, and finished the 2003–04 season with a record of 44–8–3 and a 0.821 win percentage. He led the Steelers to the league's best record and won the League Championship before retiring from hockey.

Personal life

Blaisdell's son Harrison played junior hockey for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

and later attended the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching

Awards

* WHL Second All-Star Team – 1980 * AHL

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 ...

in 1981 (

) * CHL Championship Adams Cup in 1984 ( Tulsa Oilers) * Great Britain Championship: 1991, 1992 (Durham) 2001 (Sheffield) (as head coach), 2002 (Sheffield) (as head coach) *

Ice Hockey Journalists UK Ice Hockey Journalists UK, abbreviated to IHJUK, is an organisation which was set up in 1984 to promote the interests of ice hockey and its writers, photographers and broadcasters. Originally called the British Ice Hockey Writers Association, abbr ...

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

References

External links

*
British Hockey Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaisdell, Mike 1960 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players Albany Choppers players Baltimore Skipjacks players British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Canadian ice hockey right wingers Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Durham Wasps players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in West Germany NHL first-round draft picks New Haven Nighthawks players New York Rangers players Newmarket Saints players Nottingham Panthers coaches Nottingham Panthers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Regina Blues players Regina Pats players Schwenninger Wild Wings players Sheffield Steelers players HC Sierre players Ice hockey people from Moose Jaw Toronto Maple Leafs players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Canadian sportsmen