Terry W. "Roscoe" Ruskowski (born December 31, 1954) is a Canadian 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 ...

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and coach, who played for the

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

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

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), and for the Houston Aeros and

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA). Ruskowski's leadership on the ice was recognized with his tenure as captain of the Aeros, Blackhawks, Kings, and Penguins, the only player in major professional history to captain four clubs. As a coach, Ruskowski was most recently the head coach and general manager for the

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

Coaching career

In 2001, Ruskowski was named the head coach of the

Laredo Bucks The Laredo Bucks were an ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. The Bucks played in Laredo, Texas, United States at the Laredo Energy Arena, formerly known as the Laredo Entertainment Center. On May 1, 2012, the management, citing declin ...

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

, of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. On March 18, 2009, he secured his 500th coaching win, as the Bucks defeated the

Texas Brahmas The Fort Worth Brahmas were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League, and previously the Western Professional Hockey League. The team originally played at the Fort Worth Convention Center but played their final six seasons, inc ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, 4-3, in the Southern Conference playoffs. In 2007, Ruskowski entered the final year of a four-year contract extension with the Bucks. Ruskowski told the ''

Laredo Morning Times The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busin ...

'' that his tenure was in the hands of Bucks chairman Glenn Hart, owner Julian "Kiki" DeAyala, and team president John Beckelhymer and that he had "full faith" that he will obtain his third contract with the club. He was shortly thereafter given a "lifetime contract" as the coach of the Bucks. Ruskowski led the Bucks to the postseason in seven of his years as head coach. The team won President Cup championships in 2004 and 2006 and four consecutive Southern Conference titles. Ruskowski became a well-known figure in the Laredo community. On June 3, 2010, Ruskowski was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Laredo

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in a ceremony at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In May 2011, Ruskowski announced his resignation after ten years as the coach of the Bucks."Coach Rosco True Laredo example" (editorial), ''Laredo Morning Times'', June 12, 2011, p. 17A The decision to step down despite a lifetime contract came after declining attendance and depressed revenues to the Bucks. Ruskowski had compiled a 343–175–56 overall record in Laredo and was the CHL "Coach of the Year" during the 2005–06 season. A year after Ruskowski's departure from the Bucks, the team, citing declining attendance and revenue reversals, disbanded. On June 28, 2011, Ruskowski became the coach of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees hockey team, based in

McAllen McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, a staunch rival of the Laredo Bucks. Ruskowski had a two-year contract with the Bees. Ruskowski became the head coach and general manager of the

in the

in the 2013–14 season. On January 20, 2017, he was relieved of his duties.

Honours

In 2010, Ruskowski was elected as an inaugural inductee into the

World Hockey Association Hall of Fame The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is an independent organization dedicated to honoring the World Hockey Association (WHA) which operated from 1972 to 1979 as a major professional ice hockey league. Officially partnered with the United Stat ...

.WHA Hall of Fame Members
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Career statistics

Personal life

Born in Prince Albert,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Ruskowski began his junior hockey career in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL - Tier II) in 1970–71, playing for the Humboldt Broncos. His leadership ability at age sixteen was evident, as was his ability and toughness. He helped to propel the Broncos to the league final that year. From 1971 to 1974, Ruskowski played for the Swift Current Broncos where he became captain in his second and third year and helped to lead the team until it lost in the semi-finals in 1974. As well, he still holds the team record for most assists in one year, 93 assists in 1973–74. He could be expected to stick up for his teammates, a situation which led to many fighting penalties each year. Ruskowski is married and has two daughters.

References

External links

Hockey Hall of FameHockey Draft Central
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruskowski, Terry 1954 births Living people Canadian Christians Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Chicago Blackhawks captains Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players Houston Aeros draft picks Houston Aeros (WHA) players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Los Angeles Kings players Minnesota North Stars players Pittsburgh Penguins players Saskatoon Blades coaches Sportspeople from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players