Randy Velischek
Randy John Velischek (born February 10, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1982–83 until 1991–92 for the Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, and Quebec Nordiques.[1] Randy Velischek was drafted 53rd overall by the North Stars in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.[1] He played 509 career NHL games, scoring 21 goals and 97 points.[1]
| Randy Velischek | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 10, 1962 Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
NHL Minnesota North Stars New Jersey Devils Quebec Nordiques AHL Springfield Indians Maine Mariners Halifax Citadels Cornwall Aces IHL Milwaukee Admirals CHL Salt Lake Golden Eagles BHL Durham Wasps | ||
| NHL Draft |
53rd overall, 1980 Minnesota North Stars | ||
| Playing career | 1983–1995 | ||
He was also the head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League for the 2018–19 season.
Playing career
Velischek was born in Montreal, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1974 and 1975 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Mount Royal, Quebec.[2] He spent his junior hockey career with the Lac St-Louis Lions of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association and the Verdun Éperviers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.[1] After his junior career ended, Velischek played four years of college hockey for the Providence Friars from 1979 to 1983, where he majored in business and French, graduating with honors.[1][3]
In addition to playing in the NHL, Velischek played professionally in the American Hockey League for the Springfield Indians, Maine Mariners, Halifax Citadels, and Cornwall Aces, the International Hockey League for the Milwaukee Admirals, the Central Hockey League for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, and the British Hockey League for the Durham Wasps.[1][4]
Life after hockey
From 1995 to 2006, Velischek served as a broadcaster for the New Jersey Devils on ABC Radio and WFAN-AM.[3]
Beginning in 2007–08 school year, Velischek taught at the Pingry School as a German and French teacher and coached middle school ice hockey.[3] On June 11, 2009, Velischeck was hired as the boy's high school ice hockey coach at Morristown-Beard School.[5] Along with coaching at Morristown-Beard School, Velischek was also the hockey director at Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown, New Jersey, and runs RJV Hockey School.[6]
On September 20, 2018, nine days before the start of the season, he was named the head coach of the New Jersey Devils-associated Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League,[7] based in Newark, New Jersey, despite not having any previous experience in women's hockey.[8] He was not retained for the 2019–20 season after the Devils severed ties with the Riveters and the team performed disappointingly.[9][10]
Personal life
Randy's son, Alex Velischek, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (123rd overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft.[11][12] Like his father, Alex also played four years of college hockey for Providence.[12] Alex also played professional hockey for the Wheeling Nailers, Missouri Mavericks, and Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, as well as the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League.[12][13][14][15] Randy was named hockey director of the Ramapo Saints tier 1,2 & 3 hockey program.In addition to son Alex, Randy has a son Anders and a daughter Abbey.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977–78 | Lac-St-Louis Lions | QMAAA | 26 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1978–79 | Lac-St-Louis Lions | QMAAA | 39 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 47 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 1978–79 | Verdun Eperviers | QMJHL | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Providence College | NCAA | 31 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Providence College | NCAA | 33 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Providence College | NCAA | 33 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Providence College | NCAA | 41 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1983–84 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | CHL | 43 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 33 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 26 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 52 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 21 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 47 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 64 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 51 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 1988–89 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 62 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 72 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 79 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 38 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 49 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 53 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Cornwall Aces | AHL | 18 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 509 | 21 | 76 | 97 | 401 | 44 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 32 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-ECAC Hockey All-Star Team of The 1980s Second Team | 1979-83[1] |
| All-ECAC | 1981–82[1] |
| ECAC Second All-Star Team | 1981–82[1] |
| NCAA (All-East) Senior All-Stars | 1982–83[1] |
| All-ECAC | 1982–83[1] |
| ECAC First All-Star Team | 1982–83[1] |
| ECAC Player of The Year | 1982–83[1] |
| NCAA (New England)-All New England | 1982–83[1] |
| AHCA East All-American | 1982–83[16] |
References
- "Randy Velischek". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- "The Pingry Review" (PDF). Pingry School. Winter 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "Randy John Velischek". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "Randy Velischek Named Morristown-Beard Ice Hockey Coach (High School Boys Ice Hockey News)". NJ.com. June 11, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "Randy Velischek". Twin Oaks Ice Rink. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "The Riveters finally name a new coach". TheIceGarden.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- "Will New Coach Randy Velischek Survive More Than One Season?". November 8, 2018.
- Murphy, Mike (July 3, 2019). "The Riveters' next coach needs to be chosen carefully". The Ice Garden.
- "Metropolitan Riveters: Reeling Rivs Relieved to See 2018 End". December 16, 2018.
- Chere, Rich (June 27, 2009). "Pittsburgh Penguins Draft Kinnelon's Alex Velischek, Son of Former New Jersey Devils Defenseman Randy". NJ.com. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- "Mavericks Sign Kyle Fletcher and Alex Velischek". OurSportsCentral.com. September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- Genet, Mike (October 10, 2014). "A NEW ERA". The Examiner. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- "ECHL Transactions - Oct. 9". ECHL. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- "Cyclones Complete Trade with Missouri". OurSportsCentral.com. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
- "1982-1983 AHCA TITAN ALL-AMERICAN TEAM". American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- RJV Hockey School
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steve Cruickshank |
ECAC Hockey Player of the Year 1982–83 |
Succeeded by Cleon Daskalakis |