Gary Robert Shuchuk (born February 17, 1967) is a Canadian 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 ...

coach and former

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who is currently an assistant coach with

Grizzlys Wolfsburg Grizzlys Wolfsburg are a professional ice hockey club of the German professional ice hockey league Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play their games at Eisarena in Wolfsburg. History Wolfsburg earned their first promotion to the DEL in 2004. Howe ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

. He 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 ...

(NHL) between 1991 and 1996. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1990 to 2004, was spent in the minor leagues and later in Europe. After his playing career Shuchuk turned to coaching and spent several years at the American collegiate level.

College career

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Shuchuk committed to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

during his second year playing for the St. Albert Saints of the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

. He played 4 years for the

Badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...

from 1986-1990. During that time he won a WCHA Championship, an

NCAA Championship 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 and ...

, and was named a First-Team All-American. During the 1989-1990 Season he accumulated 80 points (41 goals, 39 assists), which currently ranks 6th all time for total points in a season in Wisconsin Hockey history, his 41 goals that season also ranks 4th in the program's history. Other notable historic statistics include: 2nd all time in Wisconsin Hockey program history for number of games played (177 GP), 5th all time in career penalty minutes (314 PIMs), 7th all time in career goals (85 G), and 12th all time in career points (176 pts).

Professional career

Shuchuk started his National Hockey League career with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. Shuchuk then went to 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 ...

as part of the

Paul Coffey Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among ...

Jimmy Carson James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is an American former professional hockey player. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League with five different teams. In 1988, he became only the second teenager in NHL history to score 50 goals ...

trade, and is probably best known for scoring the game-winning goal for the Kings in double overtime of game 5 of the 1993

Smythe Division The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the leagu ...

finals against 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 ...

. During the 1993 season, Shuchuk and the

made it to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

, before falling to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in 5 games. In addition to his time in the NHL, Shuchuk played in the IHL, and the AHL, with the

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Natio ...

, Houston Aeros, Phoenix Roadrunners, and the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

. He went on to play in Europe, having played for SC Herisau in the Swiss 1. Liga, for EC KAC in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

, as well as

Düsseldorfer EG Düsseldorfer EG (short DEG) is a German professional ice hockey team in Düsseldorf. It was Germany's most successful hockey club for a long time and had many international players. The famous Eisstadion at the Brehmstrasse was the home venue for ...

and

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liabil ...

of the

. During the 2002-03 DEL season, he captained the

to their first league championship in over 50 years.

International career

Shuchuk played for Team Canada in the

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United ...

winning a

Bronze Medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the process. He also captained Team Canada to a Gold Medal in the 2002 Deutschland Cup. He was once again elected to Team Canada for the 2003 Deutschland Cup.

Coaching career

Shuchuk was a Player Assistant Coach for the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

for the 2003-04 AHL season. In 2010 he was hired as an Assistant Coach for the

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is coached by Tony Granato. The Badgers ice hockey team ...

team. He helped the program reach two NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's, as well as winning the 2014 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2015 he went on to become an Assistant Coach for the

Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey The Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Michigan Technological University. The Huskies are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They play at the Ma ...

team, helping the program win the 2017 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and securing a spot in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2017, he was named the head coach of the

Janesville Jets The Janesville Jets are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League. Based in Janesville, Wisconsin, their home games are played at the Janesville Ice Arena. History The Jets name was chosen by a name-the-team contest ...

of the

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 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuchuk, Gary 1967 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Düsseldorfer EG players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players EC KAC players Krefeld Pinguine players Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League supplemental draft picks NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players SC Herisau players Ice hockey people from Edmonton Springfield Falcons players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players