Wikipedia

Eddie Bumbacco

Edward M. Bumbacco is a Canadian retired ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Notre Dame.[1]

Eddie Bumbacco
Born (1952-01-10) January 10, 1952 (age 72)
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Left wing
Played for Notre Dame
NHL draft 142nd overall, 1972
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1970–1974

Career

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Bumbacco was a hot commodity as a junior player, being selected by the Toronto Marlboros in the 1969 OHA Priority Selection. He decided to remain with his junior-B club, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and produced a fantastic season, scoring at a nearly 3-point-per-game pace. Bumbacco led the Greyhounds to a league championship and was named as the playoff MVP. In the 1970 Memorial Cup Sault Ste. Marie received a bye into the quarterfinal round but were defeated by eventual champion Montreal Junior Canadiens four games to one.

After the season Bumbacco began attending the University of Notre Dame and played four seasons with the varsity hockey team. Bumbacco missed part of his freshman season due to a bout of mononucleosis and then had surgery to repair a separated shoulder in the offseason. Prior to his sophomore season the Fighting Irish joined the WCHA and the team was predictably near the bottom of league standings. Bumbacco did, however, acquit himself well enough to be selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL Draft.[2]

The next year it appeared that Montreal may have made a very shrewd pick when Bumbacco went on a scoring rampage, posting the best offensive season for any Notre Dame player in history.[3] Bumbacco's 90-point season placed him second in the nation and helped Notre Dame finish second in the WCHA. Bumbacco was one of Notre Dame's first two All-Americans (the other being Bill Nyrop) and the Fighting Irish came within a goal of making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. There were high hopes that Notre Dame could contend in Bumbacco's senior season but the winger's point totals were nearly halved and the Irish dropped back to 8th place in the conference.

Bumbacco chose to end his playing career after graduating and he returned to Sault Ste. Marie to work as an executive in the steel industry.

Personal life

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Bumbacco's father, Angelo, became the general manager for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when Eddie was in college. Angelo was instrumental in bringing Wayne Gretzky onto the team and also suggested that the teenage phenom wear the number '99'. Angelo died on October 27, 2020.[4]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967–68 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOJHL 17 2 9 11 12 — — — — —
1968–69 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOJHL 48 32 25 57 18 13 4 11 15 2
1969–70 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOJHL 44 65 54 119 44 12 19 17 36 8
1970–71 Notre Dame NCAA 25 15 15 30 10 — — — — —
1971–72 Notre Dame WCHA 34 23 27 50 8 — — — — —
1972–73 Notre Dame WCHA 38 43 47 90 38 — — — — —
1973–74 Notre Dame WCHA 36 22 28 50 15 — — — — —
NOJHL Totals 109 99 88 187 74 25 23 28 51 10
NCAA Totals 133 103 117 220 71 — — — — —

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1972–73 [5]
AHCA West All-American 1972–73 [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1972-1973 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "Eddie Bumbacco". Hockey Draft Central. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Notre Dame Hockey" (PDF). Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "OHL Mourns the Loss of Angelo Bumbacco". Ontario Hockey League. October 28, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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