Kelly Buchberger

Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a head coach of the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Kelly Buchberger
Buchberger in 2014
Born	(1966-12-02) December 2, 1966 (age 58) Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Edmonton Oilers Atlanta Thrashers Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Canada
NHL draft	188th overall, 1985 Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1986–2004
Medal record Representing  Canada Ice hockey World Championships 1994 Italy 1996 Austria

Playing career

Buchberger has played for the Edmonton Oilers, Atlanta Thrashers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also played minor hockey with the Western Hockey League Moose Jaw Warriors and pro hockey with the American Hockey League Nova Scotia Oilers.

He was drafted in the ninth round by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 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.^[1] He won the Stanley Cup twice with Edmonton, in 1987 and 1990.

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. He remained with the Oilers until 1999, when he was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft.^[2]

Coaching career

After retiring, Buchberger was an assistant coach with the AHL Edmonton Road Runners 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.^[3]

On July 11, 2017, Buchberger was hired as the assistant coach by the New York Islanders.^[4] In 2018, he was named the head coach of the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League.^[5] In 2021, his contract with the Americans was not renewed.^[6]

Buchberger was hired as the first general manager and head coach of the Devon Xtreme, a junior ice hockey expansion franchise to debut in the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the 2024–25 season.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983–84	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		60	14	11	25	139		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL		51	12	17	29	114		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL		72	14	22	36	206		13	11	4	15	37
1986–87	Nova Scotia Oilers	AHL		70	12	20	32	257		5	0	1	1	23
1986–87	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	0	0	5
1987–88	Nova Scotia Oilers	AHL		49	21	23	44	206		2	0	0	0	11
1987–88	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		19	1	0	1	81		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		66	5	9	14	234		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		55	2	6	8	168		19	0	5	5	13
1990–91	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		64	3	1	4	160		12	2	1	3	25
1991–92	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		79	20	24	44	157		16	1	4	5	32
1992–93	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		83	12	18	30	133		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		84	3	18	21	199		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		48	7	17	24	82		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		82	11	14	25	184		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		81	8	30	38	159		12	5	2	7	16
1997–98	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		82	6	17	23	122		12	1	2	3	25
1998–99	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		52	4	4	8	68		4	0	0	0	0
1999–00	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		68	5	12	17	139		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		13	2	1	3	13		4	0	0	0	4
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		82	6	14	20	75		8	1	0	1	2
2001–02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		74	6	7	13	105		7	0	0	0	7
2002–03	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		79	3	9	12	109		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		71	1	3	4	109		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Bentley Generals	ChHL		9	4	6	10	12		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,182	105	204	309	2,297		97	10	14	24	129

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Canada	WC	4th		8	0	2	2	6
1994	Canada	WC			8	0	0	0	8
1996	Canada	WC			4	0	0	0	6
Senior totals					20	0	2	2	22

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	Finish	Result
SPR	2007–08	80	35	35	5	5	80	5th in Atlantic	Missed playoffs
TC	2018–19	68	34	28	5	1	74	4th in U.S.	Lost in first round
TC	2019–20	63	17	40	4	2	40	5th in U.S.	no playoffs[a]
TC	2020–21	19	7	12	0	0	14	no standings[b]	no playoffs[b]

1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America the nearly complete 2019–20 WHL regular season was cancelled, and no playoffs were held.
2. The 2020–21 WHL regular season was shortened, started late, then was cancelled early, and no playoffs were held, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Tri City Americans were in a mathematical position to finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th in the U.S. Division when the season was cancelled.

Awards and honours

Award	Year
NHL
Stanley Cup (Edmonton Oilers)	1987, 1990

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played
• List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes