Michael P. Stapleton is a retired National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

, Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

, Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

, Atlanta Thrashers

Atlanta Thrashers

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

, New York Islanders

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 and Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

. He is the son of former NHL defenceman and 1972 Summit Series Team Canada member Pat Stapleton. He is married to wife Laura and has two sons, Luke and Nick. Hired as head coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on May 6, 2011.

Junior career

Stapleton played Junior B hockey for the Strathroy Blades and Junior A hockey in the Ontario Hockey League

Ontario Hockey League

The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....

 for the Cornwall Royals

Cornwall Royals

The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981 and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team should not be confused with other Cornwall Royals teams that played in the QSHL, MMJHL, or OHA-B.-History:From 1961 until 1969, the...

 where he scored 104 goals and 258 points over three seasons and 182 games. He was rated OHL Leyden Division's hardest worker, best faceoff man and best penalty killer in a 1985–86 poll of league coaches.

NHL career

He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks #132 overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft

1984 NHL Entry Draft

The 1984 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.The 1984 Entry Draft was noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower rounds. In addition to Mario Lemieux being taken first overall, Patrick Roy was chosen...

. He played 697 NHL games for seven different teams netting 71 goals and 182 points along with 342 penalty minutes.

Europe

In 2001, Stapleton moved to Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 and played for the Espoo Blues

Espoo Blues

The Blues are an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They play in Espoo, Finland at the Barona Areena.-Team history:The club was established in February 1984 as Kiekko-Espoo and played their first season in 1984-1985 in the Finnish Second Division...

, scoring 18 goals and 37 points in 41 games. He then had a brief spell in the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Elitserien

Elitserien

Elitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...

 for Leksands IF

Leksands IF

Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team is currently playing in the second highest league in Sweden, HockeyAllsvenskan. Leksand has played 53 seasons in the top Swedish league – between 1951 to 2001, 2002 to 2004, and 2005–06...

 before returning to Espoo. He spent one more season in Finland for Tappara

Tappara

Tappara is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They play in Tampere, Finland at Tampereen jäähalli. The team have won 15 league championships ....

 before retiring in 2004.

International career

Stapleton also played for Team Canada at the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 10th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held from December 26, 1985, until January 4, 1986. It was held mainly in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Soviet Union won the gold medal, its seventh championship, Canada...

 where he won a silver medal.

Coaching career

Stapleton served as an assistant to head coach/GM Scott Gardiner with the NAHL's Traverse City North Stars

Traverse City North Stars

The Traverse City North Stars are a Tier II Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's North Division, and play out of 1,500-seat Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City, Michigan, recently re-branded Hockeytown North via a branding relationship with the Detroit Red Wings who use the...

 during the club's inaugural 2005–06 season before accepting a position as associate coach of the OHL's Erie Otters

Erie Otters

The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, they have played their home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena since 1996...

. He has accepted a position to become the new assistant coach for the Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

 of the AHL

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

, beginning with the 2010-11 American Hockey League season.

External links