Islanders: Getting To Know Luke Richardson and Kelly Buchberger

It looks like the New York Islanders player will have to get to know some new coaches this fall. We should get to know them now. Maybe with a little quiz?

There isn’t much else that is bound to change for the New York Islanders in the next month or so. No roster turnover, no new prospects to think about. Until that expansion draft/entry draft week, this is all we have.

While it hasn’t been officially announced, it would sure seem that Luke Richardson and Kelly Buchberger will be joining Doug Weight‘s staff.

You might remember them as solid, but unspectacular NHLers. The types that gave the proverbial sixty-minute effort every night. Their long careers fall into the well-worn cliche of who makes the best coach.

New York Islanders

The hard-working journeyman, who had to scrap to survive, learned hockey the hard way and can better relate to the average player.  Al Arbour, Scott Bowman, Joel Quennville, Herb Brooks. Those work-a-day folk can out-coach Gretzky, and Orr, and Howe.  Meh, maybe.

Let’s have a little trivia quiz and see how well you know your new, possible, potential, alleged, assumed, Islander coaches.

We can start with Kelly Buchberger.

Q1. According to HockeyDB.com, What was the last professional hockey club Buchberger played for?

A1. Kelly Buchberger who played right wing, but shot left, finished his career with the Bentley Generals of the Chinook Hockey league.  I had only heard of this team and league once before. That was when the Generals tried to add Ryan Smyth but weren’t allowed to because he was a professional.  I’m not sure what it says about the skills of Kelly Buchberger that he could play without controversy. But the Gens, once coached by Brian Sutter, also list ex-Islander greats Trent Hunter, Jeremy Colliton, and Darren Van Impe on their all-time roster.

Q2.  If Kelly Buchberger should one day become an NHL head coach, he would be one of six members of the 1986-87 Nova Scotia Oilers to attain that honor. Can you name the other five?

Here’s a hint, that doesn’t include the following teammates who became “only” NHL assistants, or minor league head coaches; Murray Eaves, Jeff Brubaker, Rik Wilson, ), Jeff Buekeboom, Marty McSorley, Darren Pang, Lou Crawford. (I was charitable and included RHI as a minor league).

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A2. Kelly played on the 1986-87 Nova Scotia Oilers with the following future head coaches Bruce Boudreau (Caps, Ducks, and Wild), Bruce Cassidey (Caps and Bruins), Butch Goring (Bruins and Isles), Jim Playfair (Calgary), and Rick Patterson (Tampa).

Here’s a couple of equally obscure, yet interesting to me, questions about Luke Richardson.

Q3.  Luke Richardson, in 1991, was the headliner going the other way in a trade in which the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired two future hall of famers.  Can you name them?

A3.  Richardson was the big piece that Edmonton acquired in the deal when they traded both Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson to Toronto.

Q4. In 1987 Luke Richardson was chosen 7th overall. Three of the six men chosen before Luke Richardson that year went on to play for the Islanders.  Name them.

A4. The first overall pick in 1987 was Pierre Turgeon, who came to the Isles in the Lafontaine trade. The fourth pick that year was a highly touted defender named Wayne MacBean.  Wayne came to the Isles from LA and somewhere along the line got a reputation for dating famous teen TV actresses.   His reputation for stellar defense… not so much.  And you deserve a gold star if you knew that the number six overall pick that year was a slow, giant (for the time) center named Dave Archibald.  Archibald played a few games for a crappy Islander team a decade later on his way out of the league.

Q5.  While with the Flyers, Richardson played with plenty of ex and future Isles; Niinimaa, Sillinger, Darby, Park. But the standouts were three very well-known goalies, and two all time goons, Who also became Islanders at some point.  Name all five.

A5. Luke Richardson played in 97 with Ron Hextall and Garth Snow. A couple of seasons later he played with John Vanbiesbrouck,  The two aforementioned goons were Craig Berube and Gino Odjick

Next: New York Islanders: Barzal Is A Champion.

Just a little something to pass the time while you wonder if there’s a deal in place for the Golden Knights to select Casey Cizikas.