Michael Patrick Stapleton (born May 5, 1966) 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 ...

player who played fourteen seasons 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 ...

from 1986 until 2001. Throughout his career Stapleton played for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

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 ...

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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

and

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. After leaving the NHL he spent several years playing in Europe, retiring in 2004. The son of former NHL player Pat Stapleton, he also played internationally for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the 1986 World Junior Championships, winning a silver medal. After his playing career ended Stapleton served as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and since 2014 has been a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

with the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

Playing career

Junior

Stapleton played Junior B hockey for the

Strathroy Blades The Strathroy Rockets are a junior ice hockey team based in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History In 1965, the Rockets joined the old Western Junior "B" league. When ...

and Junior A hockey in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

for the

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

, where he scored 104 goals and 258 points over three seasons and 182 games. He was rated OHL Leyden Division's hardest worker, best faceoff man and best penalty killer in a 1985–86 poll of league coaches.

NHL

He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks #132 overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played 697 NHL games for seven different teams, netting 71 goals and 182 points along with 342 penalty minutes.

Europe

In 2001, Stapleton moved to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

and played for the

Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

, scoring 18 goals and 37 points in 41 games. He then had a brief spell in the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

for

Leksands IF Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish professional ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team plays in the top-tier league, Swedish Hockey League (SHL), after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus ...

before returning to Espoo. He spent one more season in Finland for

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...

before retiring in 2004.

International career

Stapleton was named to the Canadian national junior team for the

1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1986 WJHC'') was the tenth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held from December 26, 1985, until January 4, 1986. It was held mainly in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The S ...

. Scoring 6 points in 7 games, Stapleton helped the team win the silver medal.

Coaching career

Stapleton served as an assistant to head coach/GM Scott Gardiner with the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American profession ...

Traverse City North Stars The Traverse City North Stars were a Tier II junior hockey, Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League, North American Hockey League's North Division, and played out of 1,500-seat Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City, Michigan. The ...

during the club's inaugural 2005–06 season before accepting a position as associate coach of the OHL's

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the league. The team's name refers to the North Am ...

. He accepted a position to become the new assistant coach for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

of the AHL in the 2010-11 American Hockey League season.Ducks Name Stapleton Assistant Coach of Crunch
/ref> He served as the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League's

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in th ...

for the 2011–12 season and part of the 2012–2013 season. He was fired on December 3, 2012 and replaced by

Sheldon Keefe Sheldon Keefe (born September 17, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the T ...

Personal life

Stapleton is the son of former NHL defenceman and

1972 Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (), or Series of the Century (), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet nation ...

Team Canada member Pat Stapleton. Stapleton and his wife Laura and have two sons, Luke and Nick.

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton, Mike 1966 births Anaheim Ducks scouts Arvika HC players Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of English descent Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players Cornwall Royals (OHL) players Edmonton Oilers players Espoo Blues players Indianapolis Ice players Leksands IF players Living people New York Islanders players Sportspeople from Strathroy-Caradoc Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Saginaw Hawks players Ice hockey people from Sarnia Tappara players Vancouver Canucks players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland