There’s a hockey trivia question on the back of the 1960-61 Topps Bronco Horvath card asking who was the only coach to lead teams to Memorial Cup, Allan Cup and Stanley Cup championships. The answer then remains the same today. Joe Primeau coached Toronto St. Michael’s to Memorial Cup glory in 1947. In 1950, he led the Toronto Marlboros to Allan Cup champion status. The following year, he coached Bill Barilko and the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup.
While trying to find the answer to that trivia question (the answer was no longer readable on the back), the first search result that popped up was Danny Lewicki. Lewicki is famous for winning all three trophies. However, it was not as coach. Lewicki won the Mem, Allan and Stanley Cups, completing the triple while still a junior, turning 20 just before winning the Cup with the Maple Leafs.
Lewicki is the only player to do this and will most likely remain the only one with NHL bound juniors on the rise never playing senior amateur hockey in Canada.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Danny Lewicki – Junior and Minor Pro
Lewicki started out his junior career with the Fort William Knight of Columbus of the TBJHL, appearing for three years from 1945-46 to 1947-48. In his final season with Fort William, he joined up with the rival Port Arthur Bruins for the playoffs. Teamed with players like Dave Creighton and Rudy Migay, the Bruins swept the Barrie Flyers in the finals for the championship. Through the Memorial Cup playoffs, Danny scored 21 and assisted on 19 for 40 points over 17 games.
Danny Lewicki Collection
For 1948-49 and 1949-50, Lewicki moved south to play in the OHA. In the first year, he played for the Stratford Kroehlers, a team that placed fifth in the nine team league and lost to the Toronto Marlboros in the quarter-finals. Danny put up great numbers with 24 goals and 24 assists over 29 regular season games.
In 1949-50, he left Stratford for the Toronto Marlboros. The team finished first overall but lost in the semi-finals to the Windsor Spitfires in five games. Lewicki then joined the senior Marlboros for the playoffs and Allan Cup run. Over the Allan Cup playoffs, he scored 22 and assisted on 20 in just 17 games. Toronto won the championship, taking out the Calgary Stampeders in the final series.
After jumping right to the NHL and the Maple Leafs for the 1950-51 season, Lewicki found himself in the American Hockey League pretty much full-time in 1952-53. Playing for the King Clancy coached Pittsburgh Hornets, Danny tied for sixth in the AHL with 42 assists.
The team finished second overall during the regular season and reached the Calder Cup finals before losing in seven to the Cleveland Barons. Pittsburgh outscored Cleveland 15-13 in the series and three games, including six and seven, were decided in overtime. Danny led the Hornets in the playoffs with six goals and ten points over ten games.
In 1953-54, again with Pittsburgh, Lewicki served notice that he was ready to rejoin the National Hockey League. Over 60 games, he scored 36 and assisted on 45 for 81 points. He was eighth in goals, tied for eighth in assists with teammate Willie Marshall and tied for seventh in the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as overall scoring leader.
The Second Team All-Star was a shining light on a Pittsburgh team that finished fourth in the six team AHL, barely squeaking into the post season. The Hornets lost to the Hershey Bears in the opening round, three games to two. Pittsburgh won the first two games of the series but lost three straight to drop the series.
Danny would return to the American Hockey League after his brief but exciting NHL career, playing with the Buffalo Bisons and Quebec Aces between 1959-60 and 1962-63. He did not get to play in another Calder Cup playoff game over the four years.
Lewicki returned to the OHL briefly as head coach of the Hamilton Red Wing in 1964-65. The team included future NHLers Peter Mahovlich and Real Lemieux but was stuck in the basement of the eight team league. Danny would never coach again.
Danny Lewicki – NHL
Between 1950-51 and 1958-59, Lewicki played 461 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. Over that time, he scored 105 and assisted on 135 for 240 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he appeared in 28 games, adding just four assists.
In his first season, 1950-51, Lewicki played 61 regular season and nine playoff games for Toronto. The team won the Stanley Cup championship in five games over the Montreal Canadiens. Each of the five games was decided in overtime. The series winning goal was, of course, scored by Bill Barilko.
Between 1954-55 and 1957-58, Danny didn’t miss a single game for the Rangers, appearing in 280 consecutive games. In his first year in New York, he led the team with 29 goals and 53 points over 70 games. His goal total tied him for fifth with Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings. His 53 points was good for tenth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
Despite his performance, the Rangers finished fifth in the six team league and out of post season contention. Lewicki was selected as the Second Team All-Star left winger with Sid Smith of the Maple Leafs taking First Team honours. A contender for the Lady Byng Trophy, Danny sat just four minor penalties.
His numbers would never be the same after that 1954-55 season. After his final year with the Rangers, Lewicki was picked up by the Montreal Canadiens but was shipped to the Blackhawks before the start of the 1958-59 season. That would prove to be his last year in the National Hockey League before returning to the AHL to end his playing career.
Danny Lewicki – Rookie Card
The Danny Lewicki rookie card appears as number 71 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set and is valued as a common card. The Parkhurst card is the only one showing him as a member of the Maple Leafs. Lewicki shows up on three more cards over his career, all with Topps. Two of those cards show him with the Rangers and one with the Blackhawks.
Danny Lewicki Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1950-51 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 61 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 26 |
| 1951-52 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| 1951-52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 51 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 26 |
| 1952-53 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 56 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 27 |
| 1952-53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 1953-54 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 60 | 36 | 45 | 81 | 19 |
| 1953-54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 1954-55 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 29 | 24 | 53 | 8 |
| 1955-56 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 26 |
| 1956-57 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 47 |
| 1957-58 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 26 |
| 1958-59 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 58 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 4 |
| 1959-60 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 62 | 14 | 41 | 55 | 56 |
| 1960-61 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 67 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 42 |
| 1961-62 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 65 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 18 |
| 1962-63 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 64 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 30 |
| NHL Totals | 461 | 105 | 135 | 240 | 177 |