In what may seem like a lifetime ago for the longtime head coach, Terry Ruskowski played 999 regular season major league hockey games between the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League. The man who will enter his fourth season as head coach of the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL in 2015-16 started his pro career back in 1974-75 with the Houston Aeros of the WHA Houston was the first of four major league teams he wore the ‘C’ for – a major league record.
Terry Ruskowski – The Player
Ruskowski played three years of junior hockey in the WHL from 1971-72 to 1973-74, all with the Swift Current Broncos. In his final season, Terry scored 40 goals and assisted on 93 for 133 points over 68 regular season games while also sitting 243 minutes in the penalty box. He finished second in the league for assists and fifth for points. His 93 assists remain a Swift Current record today.
At the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Ruskowski was taken in the fourth round by the Chicago Blackhawks, 70th overall. However, he was also picked in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft by the Houston Aeros in the second round, 30th overall.
Terry went the route of the rebel league and played 369 games between 1974-75 and the WHA’s demise after the 1978-79 season. He played with the Aeros for all his WHA career, except for 1978-79 when he switched to the Winnipeg Jets. Over that time, Ruskowski scored 83 goals and assisted on 254 for 337 points while also spending 761 minutes in the box.
Ruskowski’s National Hockey League career consisted of 630 regular season games between 1979-80 and 1988-89 with the Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars. In the NHL, he scored 113 goals and assisted on 313 for 426 points while also accumulating 1,356 minutes in penalties.
Along with serving as team captain of the Houston Aeros, Terry wore the ‘C’ as soon as he entered the NHL. Ruskowski was captain of the Blackhawks from 1979-80 to 1981-82. He then was team captain with the Kings for the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. His leadership continued with the Penguins, serving as captain for the 1986-87 season.
Terry Ruskowski – The Coach
Since serving as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, Terry has travelled the hockey world standing on benches in the ECHL, IHL, UHL and CHL. He returned to his WHA routes in 1994-95 and 1995-96 when he was head coach of the Houston Aeros of the IHL.
His performance as head coach of the Laredo Bucks in the CHL between 2002-03 and 2010-11 is nothing short of legendary for that league. For four years from 2003-04 to 2006-07, the Bucks were in the Ray Miron President’s Cup finals. In 2003-04, Laredo won 48 and totalled 104 points over the 64 game regular season schedule before reaching the finals and taking down the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in seven to capture the championship.
In 2004-05 and 2006-07, the Bucks reached the finals but fell to the Colorado Eagles in each of the those seasons. In 2005-06, Laredo won their second championship, once again over the Mudbugs in the final series. Ironically, none of the three teams are in the CHL today. Both the Bucks and Mudbugs have since folded while the Eagles, along with the rest of the surviving CHL teams, have moved to the ECHL.
Terry Ruskowski – Hockey Cards
The Terry Ruskowski rookie card appears as number 38 in the 1976-77 O-Pee-Chee WHA set. The card is valued at more that three times that of a common card. His first NHL card appeared in the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee set as number 141. This card is rated as a common.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1971-72 | Swift Current Broncos | WCHL | 67 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 177 |
| 1972-73 | Swift Current Broncos | WCHL | 53 | 25 | 64 | 89 | 136 |
| 1973-74 | Swift Current Broncos | WCHL | 68 | 40 | 93 | 133 | 243 |
| 1974-75 | Houston Aeros | WHA | 71 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 134 |
| 1975-76 | Houston Aeros | WHA | 65 | 14 | 35 | 49 | 100 |
| 1976-77 | Houston Aeros | WHA | 80 | 24 | 60 | 84 | 146 |
| 1977-78 | Houston Aeros | WHA | 78 | 15 | 57 | 72 | 170 |
| 1978-79 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 75 | 20 | 66 | 86 | 211 |
| 1979-80 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 74 | 15 | 55 | 70 | 252 |
| 1980-81 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 72 | 8 | 51 | 59 | 225 |
| 1981-82 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 120 |
| 1982-83 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 1982-83 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 71 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 127 |
| 1983-84 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 77 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 89 |
| 1984-85 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 144 |
| 1985-86 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 162 |
| 1986-87 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 14 | 37 | 51 | 147 |
| 1987-88 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 47 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 76 |
| 1988-89 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 630 | 113 | 313 | 426 | 1356 | ||
| WHA Totals | 369 | 83 | 254 | 337 | 761 |