John G. Tucker (born September 29, 1964) 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 h ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

who played twelve seasons 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 ...

in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

and 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 ...

, scoring 177 goals and 259 assists in 656 career regular season games and a further 28 points in 31 play-off games. He played several more seasons in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and Japan as well.

Playing career

Tucker was drafted 31st overall by Buffalo in the

1983 NHL Entry Draft The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was the 21st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL Entry Draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did ...

having played

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

for the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

where he won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

in 1982. He played for Buffalo from 1983 through 1989. He was acquired by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

on January 5, 1990. Rejoining the Sabres the following season, following an off season trade from Washington, he was again traded, this time to the New York Islanders. The following season, Tucker joined H.C. Asiago of the Italian League, scoring 88 points in 36 games and winning the Trofeo Gazzetino for MVP of the league . Tucker returned to the NHL in 1992, when he joined expansion franchise Tampa Bay, playing four seasons with the Lightning. In 1996–97 season, Tucker returned to Italy, playing for

HC Milano Hockey Club Milano was an Italian ice hockey team based in Milan. Throughout its history, the team has changed its name twice. It was previously called ''Associazione Disco Ghiaccio Milano'' and ''Hockey Club Milano Inter''. The club was founded ...

. The following three seasons John played in Japan for Kokudo Keikaku.

Coaching career

Since 2006, Tucker has served as an advisor and interim coach for his former Italian team H.C. Asiago. In 2010, Tucker was named head coach and led the team to two consecutive league championships and a Continental Cup final. Tucker recently completed his third season coaching H.C. Asiago. On April 17, 2014, Tucker was named head coach of the Buffalo Junior Sabres Junior A team of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Personal life

Tucker resides in Tampa, Florida, and Asiago, Italy. He is the founder of the Tampa Bay Lightning Alumni Association chapter, and is heavily involved in Florida youth hockey.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
Junior Lightning Is Rsunner-Up In Nike Bauer International Tournament online Center ice online article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, John 1964 births Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent Asiago Hockey 1935 players HC Milano players Ice hockey people from Windsor, Ontario Kitchener Rangers players Kokudo Keikaku players Living people New York Islanders players Tampa Bay Lightning players Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy