Robert T. Janecyk (born May 18, 1957 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played 110 games 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

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 ...

and

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. Janecyk attended Marist High School and played for

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...

in his hometown from 1976-78. He broke into pro hockey for the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...

, then played in 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

for the

New Brunswick Hawks The New Brunswick Hawks were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Home games were played at the Moncton Coliseum. They were a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1978 and 1982. The Hawks operated as a mino ...

, going 11-2 in the 1982 playoffs as the team captured the AHL's

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

. Janecyk finally got a chance to be the NHL Blackhawks' goaltender in the 1983-84 season, appearing in eight games. A blockbuster trade on the day of the 1984 NHL entry draft sent Chicago's first, third and fourth-round selections plus Janecyk to the

for their first and fourth-round picks. It ended up with one Chicago native leaving town but another arriving, the Blackhawks using the new first-round pick to draft Ed Olczyk. They were several years apart in age, but Janecyk and Olczyk had both often trained at the same local rink in their youth, and their high schools, Marist and Brother Rice, were arch rivals. Also noteworthy from that deal, the Kings and new general manager

Rogie Vachon Rogatien Rosaire "Rogie" Vachon (born September 8, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. Montre ...

used their fourth-round pick from Chicago to draft a future Hall of Famer, but one from a different sport, baseball pitcher

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

. Their first-round pick

Craig Redmond Craig Sanford Redmond (born September 22, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 191 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. Biography Redmond was born in Dawso ...

had limited success and Glavine chose not to play hockey, but in the ninth round of that draft, the Kings did actually land a future Hall of Famer of hockey,

Luc Robitaille Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille (born February 17, 1966) is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 19-season N ...

. Janecyk received more playing time out of the change of teams. He started in goal 89 times for Los Angeles the next two seasons, plus three games of the 1984-85 NHL playoffs. Two of those games went to overtime, but Janecyk and the Kings ended up eliminated by

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

and the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. Gretzky would be acquired by the Kings in August 1988, but by then Janecyk's career was almost over. He retired in 1989. Janecyk's son Adam Janecyk was a goalie for 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 ...

's hockey team from 2010-14.

References

1957 births American men's ice hockey goaltenders American people of Slavic descent Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Chicago Living people Los Angeles Kings players Ottawa Senators scouts Undrafted National Hockey League players {{US-icehockey-goaltender-stub