Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a head coach of the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Kelly Buchberger
Buchberger in 2014
Born (1966-12-02) December 2, 1966 (age 57)
Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for Edmonton Oilers
Atlanta Thrashers
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  Canada
NHL draft 188th overall, 1985
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1986–2004
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Italy
Silver medal – second place 1996 Austria

Playing career

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Buchberger has played for the Edmonton Oilers, Atlanta Thrashers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also played minor hockey with the Western Hockey League Moose Jaw Warriors and pro hockey with the American Hockey League Nova Scotia Oilers.

He was drafted in the ninth round by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, making him the 188th overall pick. He made his NHL debut in 1987 Stanley Cup finals. During his playing career, he was known best for his gritty play and leadership, having captained the Oilers for four years as the team's 9th leader in franchise history.[1] He won the Stanley Cup twice with Edmonton, in 1987 and 1990.

Buchberger was the last remaining active member of the Oilers' roster to have been on one of their five Stanley Cup-winning teams, along with Marty McSorley. He remained with the Oilers until 1999, when he was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft.[2]

Coaching career

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After retiring, Buchberger was an assistant coach with the AHL Edmonton Road Runners team in 2004–05. He then joined the Oilers management as a development coach. On August 3, 2007, he was named head coach of the Oilers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, and guided the team to a 35–35–10 record, the team's first .500 season since 1998–99. Buchberger then was promoted to the Edmonton Oilers during the 2008 offseason, becoming an assistant coach with them. On June 10, 2014, he was reassigned to the role of player personnel and replaced as assistant coach by Craig Ramsay.[3]

On July 11, 2017, Buchberger was hired as the assistant coach by the New York Islanders.[4] In 2018, he was named the head coach of the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League.[5] In 2021, his contract with the Americans was not renewed.[6]

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
1983–84 Melville Millionaires SJHL 60 14 11 25 139
1984–85 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 51 12 17 29 114
1985–86 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 72 14 22 36 206 13 11 4 15 37
1986–87 Nova Scotia Oilers AHL 70 12 20 32 257 5 0 1 1 23
1986–87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 0 0 5
1987–88 Nova Scotia Oilers AHL 49 21 23 44 206 2 0 0 0 11
1987–88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 19 1 0 1 81
1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 66 5 9 14 234
1989–90 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 2 6 8 168 19 0 5 5 13
1990–91 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 3 1 4 160 12 2 1 3 25
1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 20 24 44 157 16 1 4 5 32
1992–93 Edmonton Oilers NHL 83 12 18 30 133
1993–94 Edmonton Oilers NHL 84 3 18 21 199
1994–95 Edmonton Oilers NHL 48 7 17 24 82
1995–96 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 11 14 25 184
1996–97 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81 8 30 38 159 12 5 2 7 16
1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 6 17 23 122 12 1 2 3 25
1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 52 4 4 8 68 4 0 0 0 0
1999–00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 68 5 12 17 139
1999–00 Los Angeles Kings NHL 13 2 1 3 13 4 0 0 0 4
2000–01 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 6 14 20 75 8 1 0 1 2
2001–02 Los Angeles Kings NHL 74 6 7 13 105 7 0 0 0 7
2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 3 9 12 109
2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 1 3 4 109
2005–06 Bentley Generals ChHL 9 4 6 10 12
NHL totals 1,182 105 204 309 2,297 97 10 14 24 129

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Canada WC 4th 8 0 2 2 6
1994 Canada WC   8 0 0 0 8
1996 Canada WC   4 0 0 0 6
Senior totals 20 0 2 2 22

Coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L OTL SOL Pts Finish Result
SPR 2007–08 80 35 35 5 5 80 5th in Atlantic Missed playoffs
TC 2018–19 68 34 28 5 1 74 4th in U.S. Lost in first round
TC 2019–20 63 17 40 4 2 40 5th in U.S. no playoffs[a]
TC 2020–21 19 7 12 0 0 14 no standings[b] no playoffs[b]
  1. ^ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America the nearly complete 2019–20 WHL regular season was cancelled, and no playoffs were held.
  2. ^ a b The 2020–21 WHL regular season was shortened, started late, then was cancelled early, and no playoffs were held, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Tri City Americans were in a mathematical position to finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th in the U.S. Division when the season was cancelled.

Awards and honours

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Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup (Edmonton Oilers) 1987, 1990

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kelly Buchburger named Oilers ninth captain". Edmonton Journal. October 7, 1995. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  2. ^ "Atlantan's welcome back NHL". The Augusta Chronicle. October 3, 1999. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Craig Ramsay hired, Kelly Buchburger re-assigned as Oilers revamp staff". Edmonton Journal. June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "Islanders Name Buchberger Assistant Coach". NHL.com. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "He won the Stanley Cup in the NHL. Now he's coaching the Tri-City Americans". Tri-City Herald. July 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Buchberger Not Returning to Americans". OurSports Central. July 12, 2021.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Position created
Atlanta Thrashers captain
1999–2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Edmonton Oilers captain
19951999
Succeeded by