Morris Eugene Lukowich (born June 1, 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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.https://www.nhl.com/player/morris-lukowich-8448912 He was a member of the

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 ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) and 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) from 1976 to 1985, and later played for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and

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

of the NHL. A

left 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. ...

, Lukowich played in a total of 582 games over eight NHL seasons, registering a total of 199 goals and 219 assists for 418 points.

Biography

Born in

Speers, Saskatchewan Speers ( 2021 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Douglas No. 436 and Census Division No. 16. The village is located approximately } southeast of the City of North Battleford on ...

, Lukowich was an explosive player, both in terms of speed and scoring, though he was considered small for a professional player. Lukowich played junior hockey with the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

for three years. In his final season, he had a career year, scoring 65 times and accumulating 142 points in 72 games. He was selected 47th overall in the 1976 NHL Amateur 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 ...

, as well as the Houston Aeros in the 1976 World Hockey Association Amateur Draft, and he opted to turn pro in the WHA rather than the NHL. The opportunity to play with his idol,

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

, in Houston was the deciding factor in this decision. After two seasons in Houston, Lukowich moved on to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

for the 1978–79 season, the last for the financially troubled WHA. Lukowich scored 65 goals and added 34 assists for 99 points, and was named as the WHA's Second Team All Star. Lukowich scored 8 goals and a team high 15 points en route to capturing the final WHA championship, the

Avco Cup The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979. The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name origin ...

. When the WHA folded in 1979, the Jets were among four of its teams absorbed by the NHL. Under the NHL's admittance terms, these teams could only protect a fraction of their roster, and Lukowich was one of the few players Winnipeg managed to retain. The early NHL years were difficult for the Jets, but Lukowich quickly emerged as the team's star, and he was appointed Winnipeg's captain for the 1980–81 season. He scored 35 and 33 goals in his first two seasons respectively, before notching his best NHL numbers in 1981–82, scoring 43 goals and 92 points. He was invited to the NHL All Star game for the second year in a row, playing on a line with

Mike Bossy Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...

and

Bryan Trottier Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956) is a Canadian and American former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with ...

. Lukowich took a step back in 1982–83, struggling through injuries. He played in 69 games with 22 goals and 43 points. He rebounded somewhat in 1983–84, reaching the 30 goal plateau once again along with 25 assists. Early in 1984–85, Lukowich was traded to Boston in exchange for Jim Nill. Lukowich played in 36 games over parts of two seasons with the Bruins. He was placed on waivers early in the 1985–86 season and was picked up by the

, where he finished his NHL career. He played one additional season in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1987–88 before retiring from professional hockey. Lukowich represented Canada at the 1993

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...

Tournament, and briefly re-emerged as an

inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

player in 1994, playing several games with RHI's Calgary Rad'z.

Personal

Morris Lukowich is the brother of curler

Ed Lukowich Edward R. "Ed" Lukowich (born March 1, 1946; nicknamed "Cool Hand Luke") is a former Canadian champion curling, curler. Lukowich is a two-time Tim Hortons Brier, Brier champion, having won the Brier Tankard for Alberta as skip of both the 1978 ...

and a cousin of hockey player

Brad Lukowich Bradley J. Lukowich (born August 12, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and former assistant coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. He has won the Stanley Cup twice in his career, with the Dall ...

. He currently resides with his wife and family in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, where he operates a hockey camp.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

* WCHL First All-Star Team – 1976

References

External links

*
Winnipeg Jets Legends: Morris LukowichMorris Lukowich's Maximum Goal Scoring System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukowich, Morris 1956 births Living people Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Calgary Rad'z players Canadian ice hockey left wingers EHC Bülach players ECH Chur players HC Merano players Houston Aeros draft picks Houston Aeros (WHA) players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Los Angeles Kings players Medicine Hat Tigers players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) captains Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian inline hockey players