William Raymond Muckalt (born July 15, 1974) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player who is currently the associate head coach at
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He was the head coach and general manager of the
Tri-City Storm
The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and Gr ...
of the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...
. Muckalt played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
for the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
,
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
,
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
and
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
from 1998 until 2003. In 2016, Muckalt led the Tri-City Storm to its first Clark Cup during his first season as head coach and general manager.
Career
Playing career
Muckalt played Junior A in the
British Columbia Junior Hockey League
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams.
From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Cana ...
(BCJHL) with the
Merritt Centennials
The Merritt Centennials are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Merritt, British Columbia. They are members of the Interior Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The franchise was established in Kamloops in 1961 and moved to ...
and briefly with the
Kelowna Spartans
The Kelowna Spartans were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. They were a part of the British Columbia Hockey League.
:Kelowna Packers 1985 - 1989
:Kelowna Spartans 1989 - 1995
History
The Kelowna Packers join ...
before joining the American college ranks with the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
of the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curre ...
(CCHA) in 1994. While with Merritt, Muckalt delivered a check from behind that rendered the opposing player a quadriplegic.
Muckalt played four years for the Michigan Wolverines and was named to the CCHA and
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
West First All-Star Teams in his senior year in 1998.
The school won two
NCAA titles
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...
while Muckalt was a sophomore in 1996 and a senior in 1998. The 1996 championship team also featured future NHLers
Brendan Morrison
Brendan Morrison (born August 15, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Washington Capit ...
,
Jason Botterill
Jason Drandon Botterill (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and executive who is currently serving as an assistant general manager of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Botterill was th ...
and goalie
Marty Turco
Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and one season each with the Chicago Blackha ...
.
Muckalt was selected in the ninth round (221st overall) of the
1994 NHL Entry Draft
The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994.
The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...
by his hometown
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
. He played his first NHL game with the Canucks on October 12, 1998, against the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
, notching his first NHL point as well, an assist. Muckalt scored his first NHL goal on October 20 against the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
. He played in 73 games during his rookie season, scoring 16 goals and 36 points. Muckalt was traded to the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
along with
Dave Scatchard and goalie
Kevin Weekes
Kevin Weekes (born April 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Networks' ''On the Fly'', ''NHL Tonight'', and ESPN's The Poi ...
in exchange for goalie
Felix Potvin
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
and draft picks midway through the
1999–2000 season on December 19, 1999.
[ Shortly after debuting with the Islanders, however, he was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury sustained in a game against the ]Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
on January 13, 2000.[ After a full season with the Islanders in 2000–01, he was involved in a blockbuster trade with the ]Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
on June 23, 2001. Muckalt was dealt to Ottawa along with up-and-coming defenceman Zdeno Chara and the Islanders' first round pick in 2001 (which Ottawa would subsequently use to select Jason Spezza
Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Spezza played 19 career seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2002 to 2022, and is currently a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs' front ...
) in exchange for star centre Alexei Yashin
Alexei Valeryevich Yashin (russian: Алексей Валерьевич Яшин; born 5 November 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and New ...
.[
Muckalt spent only one season with Ottawa, registering no goals and eight assists in 70 games, before signing as a free agent with the ]Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
on July 3, 2002.[ He registered five goals and eight points in his first five games with Minnesota before dislocating his right shoulder in a game against the ]Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
on October 22, 2002.[ The injury was severe enough to end Muckalt's season and keep him sidelined for the majority of the next as well.][
He would not play another regular season NHL game, though he did attempt a comeback with the ]American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL)'s Houston Aeros, registering three assists in nine games in 2003–04. In 2006, Muckalt signed as a free agent with Russian club Vityaz Chekhov
Hockey Club Vityaz (, en, HC Knight) is a professional ice hockey team based in Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely k ...
, he never played a game for the team.
Coaching
Muckalt began his coaching career as an assistant with the Eastern Michigan Eagles
The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...
in 2006–07, moving up to head coach the following year. In 2009–10, Muckalt served as head coach of the Valencia Flyers
The Valencia Flyers are an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-sanctioned junior ice hockey team based in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. The team plays in the Western Division of the Western States Hockey League at the Ice Station Valencia.
Histor ...
of the Western States Hockey League
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...
, guiding the team to a 23–21–5 record and a fifth-place finish in the WSHL Western Division. On March 28, 2010, he was named head coach of the New Mexico Mustangs
The New Mexico Mustangs were a junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II Junior A ice hockey team based out of Rio Rancho, New Mexico that began play in the 2010–11 season. They were a member of the North American Hockey League and played in the South ...
, a North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...
(NAHL) expansion team. Muckalt led the development of the franchise's coaching, recruiting and scouting systems. With 21 rookies on the roster, the Mustangs went 19–35–4 in their first year, winning 15 of their last 27 games. In the off-season, he accepted a position as an assistant coach with Michigan Tech
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
of the NCAA Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
, and served as an assistant coach from 2011 to 2015.
During 2014–15, Muckalt helped Michigan Tech to a 29-10-2 record, tied for the most wins in college hockey, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The campaign marked the first 20-win season for MTU since the 1982-83 year. Michigan Tech had a No. 1 national ranking for the first time since 1976 and boasted the largest goal differential in Division I hockey, finishing second in goals against average (1.80) and fifth in goals per game (3.51).
With Michigan Tech, Muckalt coached Tanner Kero
Tanner James Kero (born July 24, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League (AHL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas St ...
, the 2014-15 WCHA Player of the Year, who signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. Others from MTU to sign pro contracts were Blake Peitila, with the New Jersey Devils; and former Storm goaltender Phoenix Copley, with the Washington Capitals.
In July 2015, Muckalt was named head coach of the USHL's Tri-City Storm. In his first season, he led the Storm to its first Clark Cup, sweeping the Dubuque Fighting Saints in three games. He was the seventh coach in Tri-City Storm history.
The Storm ran through the 2016 postseason with a 9–2 record, sweeping Sioux Falls, beating Waterloo in five games and dispatching Dubuque, 3–0, in the Clark Cup Final. He became the fifth coach in the Tier-1 History of the USHL (since 2002–03) to win a championship in the first season as head coach, joining Jeff Blashill (2009, Indiana), Jim Montgomery (2011, Dubuque), Derek LaLonde (2012, Green Bay) and Jeff Brown (2014, Indiana). The series wins helped the Storm rid it of some previous demons; Sioux Falls had eliminated the Storm from the postseason in 2014-15 and Waterloo beat Tri-City in the 2004 Clark Cup Final.
In the 2015-16 regular season, the Storm went 28-15-10-7 (73 points) and clinched the Western Conference regular season title for the second time. Muckalt instituted a balanced team; Tri-City finished seventh in goals for (3.05 GF/GM), seventh in goals against (2.73 GA/GM), third on the power play (20.8%) and sixth on the penalty kill (84.4%). The Storm went on a team-record 13-game point streak from February 12 - March 19. The run moved Tri-City into first place in its conference.
Muckalt presided over the development of Carson Meyer, the team's leading goal scorer (32) and Wade Allison, who won Clark Cup MVP with a league-best nine goals in the postseason. Goaltender Jake Kielly set the Storm's postseason record with a 1.64 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.
Awards and honours
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muckalt, Bill
1974 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia
Merritt Centennials players
Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players
Minnesota Wild players
New York Islanders players
Ottawa Senators players
Vancouver Canucks draft picks
Vancouver Canucks players
Ice hockey people from British Columbia
NCAA men's ice hockey national champions
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans