Hockey isn’t like it used to be, says Thunder Bay’s Mike Busniuk.
A journeyman defenceman who won four Calder Cup Trophies in the 1970s and 1980s toiling for Nova Scotia and Maine of the American Hockey League, before spending two unforgettable years with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, Busniuk said in his day players paid their dues before getting a chance at the big leagues.
The 58-year-old, who has spent the past seven seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Binghampton Senators, played four full seasons on the junior circuit before getting his chance in Philadelphia.
“I was with Montreal’s organization for my first three years of professional hockey. And everyone who played in the NHL that (first) year, all the rookies played in Halifax. There was no one that went straight from junior to the NHL back then, and that’s a good idea,” said Busniuk on Saturday.
That 1974-75 Nova Scotia Voyageurs team included the likes of Mario Tremblay, Bill Nyrop, Rick Chartraw and Doug Risebrough, all of whom saw their names ultimately engraved on the Stanley Cup on multiple occasions during Montreal’s late ‘70s four-title dynasty.
Of course, all four were stuck behind a Canadiens lineup that boasted 10 future hall-of-famers, and at 18 there were far fewer NHL teams, but the lessons learned in the minors made them better players and better people, Busniuk said.
“They should play in the AHL and bus and see that it’s not like the NHL. And then when you get to the NHL you really appreciate the NHL.
"When you’ve been in the AHL for three or four years, which I was in Halifax and in Maine, you really appreciate the different level of playing, the different level of how you are treated – not that you’re treated bad in the American Hockey League, but they have so much more money in the NHL that you get treated better,” he said, adding agents have since jumped into the mix, pressuring GMs to recall players before they are ready, something that didn’t happen when he was playing.
Not that he seems to mind spending his golden years riding the buses again. No fan of flying, Busniuk has found work as an AHL assistant for 15 of the past 17 sesasons, starting with the Binghampton Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack (where he collected his fifth AHL championship), before trying his hand as a head coach for one season with the United Hockey League’s Muskegon Fury in 2002.
The Senators, Ottawa’s top farm team, does a good job grooming its own players, said Busniuk, which makes his job that much easier.
The proof is in the pudding.
“We have a couple of goaltenders up there, we have a couple of defencemen, and in fact, the year of that the lockout we had 11 of the players who are now on Ottawa, we had them in Binghampton for the year, instead of not playing or playing over in Europe.
“I think Ottawa does a good job of drafting and they use their players (right),” said Busniuk, who has yet to hear whether or not his contract will be renewed to return to upper New York state in 2010-11.
The Thunder Bay native, who returns to the city each summer, spent two seasons in Philadelphia, scoring three goals and adding 23 assists in 143 games. His time in the City of Brotherly Love included a trip to the 1980 Stanley Cup final, which saw the Flyers fall in six games when Bob Nystrom scored in overtime to win the New York Islanders their first Stanley Cup.
He said he keeps a close eye on Thunder Bay while state-side, including the activities of his former midget hockey protégé, Keith McCullough, who with Anthony LeBlanc is vying to bring professional hockey back to their hometown.
Busniuk said he thinks the AHL would make a fine fit for the city.
“I think it would be great. Thunder Bay’s always been a great hockey town. It would be a good rivalry. You’d have them in with Manitoba, and now there’s a team in Abbotsford, B.C. and you’ve got a Toronto team and a Hamilton team.”
And who knows, he added. If a team does materialize, he might just make his way back home on a more permanent basis.
“I’d love to come back. Who doesn’t want to come back to their hometown and help out and hopefully win a championship?”
