Richard James Seiling (born December 15, 1957) 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. He spent the majority of his 738-game

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) career with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

, but also played one season for 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 ...

. After his retirement he became a successful harness racer, coach and broadcaster.

Junior career

Seiling, at 16, joined the Hamilton Fincups of the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate ind ...

at the start of the 1974–75 season. He spent three seasons with the franchise, which moved to St. Catharines in 1976, amassing 117 goals and 142 assists in 189 regular season games. The Fincups played in the 1976

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

, where Seiling posted three goals and nine points in three appearances, leading all players in scoring and earning a berth on the Memorial Cup all-star team. The following season, his last in junior, Seiling was selected to play for Canada's national junior squad, winning a silver medal while scoring three goals and three assists in seven games. Teammates on the Canadian roster that year included future number one draft picks

Dale McCourt Dale Allen McCourt (born January 26, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1977 and 1984. He later played wi ...

and

Rob Ramage George Robert Ramage (born January 11, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minneso ...

, as well as

Ron Duguay Ronald Duguay (born July 6, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1977 through 1989, and served four seasons as a minor league coach. As a player, he pl ...

, John Anderson, Dave Hunter and Al Secord.

NHL career

Seiling was drafted 14th overall by the

in the

1977 NHL amateur draft The 1977 NHL amateur draft was the 15th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. It was notable for the inclusion of players being drafted at 20 years of age. This was the only draft in which the Cleveland Bar ...

. Seiling played all 80 games during his rookie season of 1977–78, scoring 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points. His goal total increased for the next three seasons, when he peaked with a career-high 30 in 1980–81. He spent five more seasons with the Sabres, but was dealt to the

on October 7, 1986, where he played his final year in the NHL. He totaled 179 goals and 208 assists for 387 points in his career. He also picked up 573 penalty minutes. In 62 playoff games he had 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points. Seiling was sent to 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 ...

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 ...

in 1987–88, and retired after a season spent as a player-assistant coach.

Coaching career

He returned to coaching in 1994 with the Utica Blizzard of the Colonial Hockey League, leading the team to a 31–38–5 record and an eventual first round loss in the postseason. Seiling also played as a replacement player in one game, as an emergency replacement of a replaced player in the lineup that required replacing. The following year he took the reins of 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 ...

Owen Sound Platers Owen Sound Platers was a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Owen Sound, Ontario. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1989 to 2000, then was sold to new owners who renamed the team the Owen Sound Attack. History In 1989 the H ...

, but was replaced midway through the year. He spent parts of the next three seasons behind the bench in 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 ...

, first with San Antonio and later with the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

. During the inaugural season of the NWHL's

Buffalo Beauts The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center. The Beauts were established in 2015 as one of the four founding f ...

, Seiling was the co-coach along with Shelley Looney. For the 2016–17 Buffalo Beauts season, Seiling was named the general manager. He was fired on December 7, 2018.

Broadcasting

Seiling is a color analyst for the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

broadcasts on

MSG Western New York MSG Western New York (MSG WNY) is an American regional sports network that is a joint venture between MSG Entertainment and Hockey Western New York LLC. The channel (also on occasion credited as ''Pegula Sports Network'' or ''MSG Buffalo'') is ...

and WROC.

Personal life

Seiling has four children: Melody, Krystal, Zachary and Jeremy. He is the younger brother of fellow long-time NHL player Rod Seiling.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seiling, Ric 1957 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Detroit Red Wings players Hamilton Fincups players NHL first-round draft picks Ice hockey people from Ontario People from Woolwich, Ontario Winnipeg Jets (WHA) draft picks American Hockey League broadcasters Premier Hockey Federation coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian ice hockey coaches Sportspeople from the Regional Municipality of Waterloo 20th-century Canadian sportsmen