John Miszuk
| John Miszuk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
September 29, 1940 Nalibaki, Byelorussian SSR, USSR | ||
| Died |
July 28, 2025 (aged 84) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Detroit Red Wings Chicago Black Hawks Philadelphia Flyers Minnesota North Stars Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades Calgary Cowboys | ||
| Playing career | 1961–1979 | ||
John Stanley Miszuk (born Jan Miszuk; September 29, 1940 – July 28, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars between 1963 and 1970. He also played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades and Calgary Cowboys between 1974 and 1977.[1]
Playing career
Miszuk was born in the Polish village of Nalibaki, which had been annexed into the Byelorussian SSR of Soviet Union during the Second World War. The family moved to Canada and he grew up in Hamilton, Ontario where he began playing hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After a season with the Hamilton Red Wings, Miszuk turned professional and joined the Detroit Red Wings organization.[1]
After playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL) Miszuk moved up to the National Hockey League (NHL) with Detroit in 1963–64. At the end of that season, he moved to the Chicago Black Hawks, but in the following three years, he played only eight NHL games, spending most of his time in the minor leagues.
In the summer of 1967, Miszuk was chosen during NHL expansion draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, one of the six new franchises in the NHL.[2][3] With the Flyers he found a place in NHL and he played two full seasons and then was traded to the Minnesota North Stars for Wayne Hillman.[2][4]
He eventually moved to the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Michigan Stags. At the end of his career, Miszuk returned to the minor leagues, spending two seasons in the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) before retiring from competitive hockey.[1]
Personal life and death
Miszuk was married to Cora for 63 years and had two daughters and two sons. He died on July 28, 2025, at the age of 84.[5]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1957–58 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1958–59 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 48 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 89 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 28 | ||
| 1961–62 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 65 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 88 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 20 | ||
| 1962–63 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 59 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 99 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1962–63 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 25 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1964–65 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 71 | 9 | 46 | 55 | 100 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1965–66 | St. Louis Braves | CHL | 69 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 116 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1965–66 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1966–67 | St. Louis Braves | CHL | 68 | 3 | 28 | 31 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1967–68 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 74 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 79 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 1968–69 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 66 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Iowa Stars | CHL | 16 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 37 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 50 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 72 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 98 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1971–72 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 72 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 118 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 72 | 2 | 39 | 41 | 85 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 | ||
| 1973–74 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 77 | 8 | 49 | 57 | 103 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades | WHA | 66 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Calgary Cowboys | WHA | 69 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 66 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1976–77 | Calgary Cowboys | WHA | 79 | 2 | 26 | 28 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | San Francisco Shamrocks | PHL | 10 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | San Diego Hawks | PHL | 25 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHA totals | 214 | 6 | 66 | 72 | 179 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 | ||||
| NHL totals | 237 | 7 | 39 | 46 | 232 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | ||||
References
- ^ a b c "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- John Miszuk".
- ^ a b "John Miszuk Stats".
- ^ "New division with draft completed". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. June 7, 1967. p. 27. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Flyers Acquire Hillman". McKinney Courier-Gazette. UPI. May 15, 1969. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ John Miszuk obituary
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database