Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) 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 ...

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 ...

coach and former player. He played for several

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for 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 Conferenc ...

of the

(NHL) and a head coach of the Tri City Americans of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

(WHL).

Playing career

Buchberger has played for 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 ...

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

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 ...

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

, and the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. He also played minor hockey with the

Moose Jaw Warriors The Moose Jaw Warriors are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Moose Jaw Events Centre ...

and pro hockey 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

Nova Scotia Oilers The Nova Scotia Oilers were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1984 to 1988. The Oilers played their home games at the Halifax Metro Centre, and were the AHL affiliate of the Edmo ...

. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Edmonton Oilers in the

1985 NHL Entry Draft The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the 23rd NHL Entry Draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams sele ...

, making him the 188th overall pick. He made his NHL debut in 1987 Stanley Cup finals. During his playing career, he was known best for his gritty play and leadership, having captained the Oilers for four years as the team's 9th leader in franchise history. He won two

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s with Edmonton, in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and

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 humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

. Buchberger was the last remaining active member of the Oilers' roster to have been on one of their five Stanley Cup-winning teams, along with

Marty McSorley Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 until 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions. A for ...

. He remained with the Oilers until 1999, when he was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the

1999 NHL Expansion Draft The 1999 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1999–2000 season, the Atlanta Thrashers. The draft took place on June 25, 1999 in Boston, Mas ...

Coaching career

After retiring, Buchberger was an assistant coach with the AHL

Edmonton Road Runners The Edmonton Road Runners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at Rexall Place. History After the 2003–04 season the Edmonton Oilers announced that the Toronto Roadrunners would play th ...

team in 2004–05. He then joined the Oilers management as a development coach. On August 3, 2007, he was named head coach of the Oilers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, and guided the team to a 35–35–10 record, the team's first .500 season since 1998–99. Buchberger then was promoted to the Edmonton Oilers during the 2008 offseason, becoming an assistant coach with them. On June 10, 2014, he was reassigned to the role of player personnel and replaced as assistant coach by Craig Ramsay. On July 11, 2017, Buchberger was hired as the assistant coach by the

. In 2018, he was named the head coach of the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio ...

in the

. In 2021, his contract with the Americans was not renewed.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchberger, Kelly 1966 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers captains Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of German descent Edmonton Oilers coaches Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers executives Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Los Angeles Kings players Moose Jaw Warriors players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Springfield Falcons coaches Stanley Cup champions New York Islanders coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches