John Anderson (ice hockey)

John Murray Anderson (born March 28, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey right winger. He most recently served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild. He was re-hired as the head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on July 10, 2013 after coaching them from 1997 to 2008. He is a former head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers and assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. He played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers.

John Anderson
Born	March 28, 1957 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs Quebec Nordiques Hartford Whalers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1977 Toronto Maple Leafs
WHA Draft	14th overall, 1977 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1977–1994

Playing career

As a youth, Anderson played in the 1969 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto.[1]

Anderson was drafted in the first round, 11th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. He played 814 career NHL games, scoring 282 goals and 349 assists for 631 points from 1977–78 until 1988–89. Anderson was beginning to establish himself as a regular NHLer during his third season in Toronto when the club made a four-player trade with the Vancouver Canucks that brought winger Rick Vaive and centre Bill Derlago to Toronto. Anderson was paired with the two new acquisitions to form a high scoring line for the Maple Leafs. His best statistical season was the 1982–83 season, when he set career highs with 49 assists and 80 points. Following the 1984-85 season, the fourth year in a row that Anderson had scored 30-or-more goals for the Maple Leafs, he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for defensemen Brad Maxwell.

Anderson continued to be a valued goal scorer with Quebec and had potted 21-goals when he was traded again, this time to the Hartford Whalers. Anderson caught fire in Hartford to end the 1985-86 campaign putting up 25-points in just 14-games following the trade to finish the year with 29 goals and 74 points then added 13 more points in ten playoff games. The following year, his first full year with Hartford, Whalers sniper Sylvain Turgeon battled injuries and Anderson filled in nicely as the top left wing on the team. He hit the 30-goal plateau for the fifth and final time of his career finishing with 31 goals and 75 points, good for the third highest point total on the team. He played two more years in Hartford with diminishing returns then played the last five seasons of his career in the minor leagues, primarily the International Hockey League where he was a solid goal scorer.

Anderson scored the winning goal against the New York Rangers on April 4, 1987, to give the Hartford Whalers their only division championship. Anderson was the captain of his junior team, the Toronto Marlboros.

Post-playing career

Chicago Wolves banner honoring Anderson's coaching history with the franchise

In 1996–97, Anderson coached the Quad City Mallards to their first of six consecutive 50-win seasons and their first Colonial Hockey League championship in just the franchise's second season. John Anderson is the Chicago Wolves franchise's all-time coaching leader in wins with 371 and holds the club mark for postseason victories as well with 80. John led the Wolves in winning the Turner Cup and Calder Cup four times in his eleven seasons at the team's helm. His team was crowned league champions in 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02 and 2007–08.

Anderson also helped establish "John Anderson's", a diner best known for its "Banquet Burger", as well as its $4 breakfast special. The original restaurant is located at Victoria Park Ave. and Van Horne Ave. in Toronto, Ontario.[2] There is another location at the corner of Dundas and Erindale Station Road in Mississauga, Ontario. The key items offered at the Mississauga location are the "Big Puck Burger" and "John's New Specialty", which is souvlaki on a sesame-seed bun. The newest location is in Markham at 3780 14th Ave. just east of Warden Ave. This location is owned by the former owners of the original location at V.P and Van Horn. They owned that store for 25 years and opened the Markham location in the beginning of 2013.

Anderson coached the American gold medal winning team in the 2007 Jewish World Cup hockey tournament in Israel.[3]

On June 20, 2008, Anderson was named as the fourth head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers.[4] On October 10, 2008, Anderson won his first game as an NHL coach 7–4 against his good friend Bruce Boudreau's Washington Capitals.

On April 14, 2010, Anderson was released as head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers after 2 seasons with the organization.[5]

On July 12, 2011, Anderson became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes.[6]

On July 10, 2013, Anderson was rehired as the head coach of the Chicago Wolves. After leaving the organization in 2016, he joined the Minnesota Wild as an assistant head coach.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972–73	Markham Waxers	MetJHL		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Markham Waxers	OPJHL		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Toronto Marlboros	OHA		38	22	22	44	6		—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Toronto Marlboros	OMJHL		70	49	64	113	31		22	16	14	30	14
1974–75	Toronto Marlboros	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		4	4	6	10	2
1975–76	Toronto Marlboros	OMJHL		39	26	25	51	19		10	7	4	11	7
1976–77	Toronto Marlboros	OMJHL		64	57	62	119	42		6	3	5	8	0
1977–78	Dallas Black Hawks	CHL		52	22	23	45	6		13	11	8	19	2
1977–78	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		17	1	2	3	2		2	0	0	0	0
1978–79	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		71	15	11	26	10		6	0	2	2	0
1979–80	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		74	25	28	53	22		3	1	1	2	0
1980–81	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		75	17	26	43	31		2	0	0	0	0
1981–82	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		69	31	26	57	30		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		80	31	49	80	24		4	2	4	6	0
1983–84	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		73	37	31	68	22		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		75	32	31	63	27		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		65	21	28	49	26		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Hartford Whalers	NHL		14	8	17	25	2		10	5	8	13	0
1986–87	Hartford Whalers	NHL		76	31	44	75	19		6	1	2	3	0
1987–88	Hartford Whalers	NHL		63	17	32	49	20		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Hartford Whalers	NHL		62	16	24	40	28		4	0	1	1	2
1989–90	Binghamton Whalers	AHL		3	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	HC Milan	ITA		9	7	9	16	18		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	EHC Chur	CHE-2		3	2	0	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		63	40	43	83	24		1	3	0	3	0
1991–92	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		68	41	54	95	24		4	0	4	4	0
1992–93	San Diego Gulls	IHL		65	34	46	80	18		11	5	6	11	4
1993–94	San Diego Gulls	IHL		72	24	24	48	32		4	1	1	2	8
NHL totals				814	282	349	631	263		37	9	18	27	2

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977	Canada	WJC		7	10	5	15	6
1983	Canada	WC		6	2	2	4	6
1985	Canada	WC		9	5	2	7	18
Senior totals				15	7	4	11	24

NHL coaching statistics

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Division rank	Result
ATL	2008–09	82	35	41	6	76	4th in Southeast	Missed playoffs
ATL	2009–10	82	35	34	13	83	2nd in Southeast	Missed playoffs
Total		164	70	75	19

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
2. Duhatschek, Eric (May 31, 2005). "Anderson's name lives on, with a little sizzle". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
3. Lungen, Paul (November 13, 2008). "BENCH BOSSES NAMED FOR WORLD JEWISH TOURNAMENT". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved August 11, 2018. The Americans, who promise to be strong again in 2009, were led by former NHLer John Anderson to their gold-medal win in 2007
4. "ATLANTA THRASHERS HIRE JOHN ANDERSON AS NEW HEAD COACH". thehockeynews.com. June 20, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
5. "Thrashers fire John Anderson". The Globe and Mail. April 14, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
6. "Coyotes add Anderson as assistant coach". sportsnet.ca. July 12, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
7. "Wild Hire John Anderson To Fill Out Boudreau's Staff". minnesota.cbslocal.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database