Tom Lysiak

Chris Clegg
South Peace News
Tom Lysiak’s No. 9 was raised to the rafters at Medicine Hat Feb. 25 as the Tigers retired his jersey.

Lysiak, who was born and raised in High Prairie, becomes only the second player to have his jersey retired by the Tigers, the other being Lanny McDonald. Both enjoyed excellent NHL careers.

His widow, Melinda Lysiak, his daughter, Jessica Lysiak Braun, his mother, Anne Lysiak Gaetz, and his sister, Janice Storowatsky attended the ceremony.

Lysiak, who passed away from leukemia at the age of 63 years on May 30, 2016, and McDonald were teammates on the Tigers team that went to the Memorial Cup in Montreal in 1972-1973.

Lysiak played until junior age in High Prairie before embarking on a stellar Western Canada Hockey League career. He joined the Tigers in 1970-71. His second year [1971-72] in the league he led in scoring with 46-97-143 points in only 68 games. He repeated the feat the next season [1972-73] with 58-96-154 points. As a result, Lysiak was awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WCHL’s leading scorer.

In 1972-73, the Tigers won the WCHL title and played in the Memorial Cup in the world-famous Montreal Forum.

Lysiak was drafted second overall in the 1973 NHL draft by the Atlanta Flames. He joined the Flames for the 1973–74 NHL season, just the second year for the franchise, and scored a team-high 64 points. He helped the team to its first playoff berth and finished second in the voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy [top rookie].

Lysiak led the Flames in scoring in each of his five full seasons with the team and represented the Flames in three consecutive NHL All-Star Games [1975, 1976, and 1977]. He served as the Flames’ team captain during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, but was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks.

Lysiak is the Flames’ all-time leader for assists with 276 and points with 431. He ranks second in goals with 155.

Lysiak played seven full seasons for Chicago and in 1980–81 led the team in scoring with 76 points, including a career-high 55 assists. The next season, 1981–82, he matched his top point-scoring season in Atlanta with 82 points and scored a career-high 32 goals.

Lysiak played 13 seasons in the NHL.

In 2012, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Lysiak was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013.

“Tom is definitely considered to be, by many people, the greatest Tiger player of all time,” Tigers president Darrell Maser said in a statement after his death.