Vic Stasiuk


Victor John Stasiuk was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and coach. He played in the National Hockey League from 1949 to 1963 and then served as a coach from 1969 to 1973.

Playing career

Stasiuk played junior hockey in his native Lethbridge, Alberta before signing with the Chicago Black Hawks. He played sparingly in Chicago and was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1951. He spent time in the minors with the Indianapolis Capitals and the Edmonton Flyers where he put up great numbers leading the Flyers in scoring with 37 goals, 43 assists during the regular season, as the Flyers won the 1953 WHL championship. He was also selected to the WHL First All-Star Team. He was part of three Stanley Cup teams in 1952, 1954, and 1955. In 1954, however, although Stasiuk played 42 regular season games for Detroit because he spent the playoffs in the minors, his name was left off the Stanley Cup after the Wings captured the league crown. During the team’s cup run in 1955 Stasiuk contributed 8 points in 11 games.
In 1955, Stasiuk was traded to the Boston Bruins and found chemistry with Johnny Bucyk and Bronco Horvath, a grouping dubbed "The Uke line" because of the Ukrainian ancestry of the three players. Stasiuk scored 20 or more goals in four consecutive seasons with Boston from 1957-60. During the 1957-58 season, the line became the first in NHL history to have all three participants reach the 20-goal mark. In 1960, Stasiuk scored a career-high 68 points, and he was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. In 1961, he was traded back to Detroit, helping the Red Wings reach the 1961 Stanley Cup finals that spring. He played the next season in Detroit and split the 1962-63 season between the Red Wings and the AHL Pittsburgh Hornets, but was back in Detroit for their playoff run, helping the Red Wings reach the 1963 Stanley Cup finals, before finishing his career in the minors. He played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins, He recorded 183 goals and 254 assists in 745 NHL games.

Coaching career

After retiring, Stasiuk moved to coaching. He took over the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League for two seasons and later led the same league's Quebec Aces to back-to-back losses in the Calder Cup finals. in 1967–68 he was awarded the inaugural Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award. Immediately after coaching the EHL Jersey Devils from 1966-68, Stasiuk earned a job with the Philadelphia Flyers. His team finished out of the playoffs by a single point in 1969-70 and then was eliminated in the first round of the postseason the next year. Stasiuk was fired after the 1970-71 season; the Flyers offered him a scouting position, but he took a head coaching job three games into the NHL season with the California Golden Seals. Stasiuk was fired after the season due to a stylistic conflict with management, and he then spent one year behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks before settling into a career in junior hockey coaching, both in Taber coaching them to back to back finals appearances in 1976 and 1977 he finished he coaching career with Medicine Hat in 1979.

Retirement

During his retirement Stasiuk enjoyed playing golf, Stasiuk also owned a farm which he converted into Paradise Canyon Golf Course in Lethbridge which he managed for most of his retirement. After his passing the new owners built a lounge area titled Vic’s lounge in his honor.
Stasiuk was married to his wife Mary, he was a father to his 4 children, Vanessa, Elsa, Victor Jr. and JaeJae, he was a grandfather to 10 grandchildren and a great grandfather to 16.
He was viewed as a legendary figure in his home town of Lethbridge and was inducted as an inaugural member of the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. He's been described as a pivotal reason to the success southern Alberta hockey players have to this day and the pioneer of hockey in Lethbridge. Kris Versteeg commented on Stasiuk stating “He was a trailblazer, especially for the Lethbridge hockey community,"
In 2009 he was inducted into the Alberta [Sports Hall of Fame] & Museum in 2009, In 2018 he was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame.
Stasiuk died at a Lethbridge nursing home on May 7, 2023, at the age of 93.
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 best Bruins players of all time.

Awards and achievements