THE list of names is lengthy and storied.
Many individuals from Thunder Bay, and area, have achieved great success on and off the ice, and Ron Busniuk is certainly one of them.
The Lakehead product first came into prominence leading the Fort William Canadiens to a local junior crown in 1966 while piling up 42 points in 30 games.
On the Memorial Cup trail that season, Busniuk’s Canadiens bounced the Winnipeg Rangers in four straight in western quarter-final action.
Fort William would later let a 3-2 series lead vs. the Estevan Bruins get away, falling in seven games in the semifinals.
In 1966-67 it was the fabled Port Arthur Marrs turn to hoist the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League trophy and they were quick to add Busniuk to their roster after that.
His 20 points in 16 outings played a key role in the Marrs’ trek all the way to the Memorial Cup final against the powerful and eventual champion Toronto Marlboros, who were coached by another Lakehead legend, Gus Bodnar.
Moving on to play both forward and defence at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Busniuk would become one the best-ever to don the Bulldogs’ Maroon & Gold.
He paced UMD in scoring in each of his three years he was eligible to play, earned club Most Valuable Players laurels twice and was named the school’s Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1970.
His senior campaign saw Busniuk wear the captain’s ‘C’ and pick up Western Collegiate Hockey Association First Team All-Star honours and be named a NCAA First Team All-American.
Signed by the Montreal Canadiens organization, he was a member of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs Calder Cup-winning side in the AHL in 1971-72, during his second year as a pro.
Skating with the Cincinnati Swords in 1972-73, his influence proved pivotal as he celebrated a second straight AHL crown.
Having a brief NHL stint with the Buffalo Sabres over two seasons, Busniuk went on to collect AHL First Team All-Star accolades on defence with the Swords in 1973-74.
Joining the World Hockey Association after that, he played four seasons and 286 games with the likes of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, New England Whalers and the Edmonton Oilers, before the latter pair made the jump to the NHL in 1979.
Following a couple of seasons on the ice with the senior Thunder Bay Twins, he stepped into retirement as a player and got into coaching.
In 1982 he guided the local Maroons to a quarter-final berth at the 1982 Air Canada Cup national midget event in Victoria, B.C., boasting such players as Greg Puhalski, David Latta and Tony Hrkac.
He then moved behind the Twins bench as head coach in 1983.
On-ice action in 1984 saw Busniuk lead Thunder Bay to a first place finish in the Manitoba CASH League before harnessing the Steinbach Huskies in five games to win the championship.
They then swept the Spokane Chiefs in the Patton Cup west final to earn a chance for the Allan Cup vs. the rival Cambridge Hornets.
After splitting the first two meetings with the defending-champion Hornets, the Twins reeled off trio of triumphs to bring yet another Canadian senior title to the Lakehead.
Back for more in 1984-85, Busniuk’s Twins team rallied in three straight playoff series to set a mark that had never before been completed.
First they came back to drop the St. Boniface Mohawks to set-up another meeting with Spokane.
There the Chiefs went up 3-1 in the best-of-seven, but the savvy bench boss guided his club back with three victories in succession to claim another western crown and head to the Allan Cup once more.
On short rest, the club travelled to Corner Brook, Nfld., where the home-town Royals would host the entire series.
Once again Thunder Bay started slow and dropped the first three contests to fall into a deep hole.
With Corner Brook having champagne on ice to celebrate, undaunted, the Twins roared back with three wins of their own to even the best-of-seven affair.
In an epic finale, and buoyed by a brilliant speech made by him, that players on the squad fondly recall to this day, his charges completed the comeback and became the initial senior team in the country to win the Allan Cup after losing their first three match-ups.
Playing a key role in the Thunder Bay Kings national midget championship win in 1997 as well, his success in the game remains cemented.
The ever-personable Ron Busniuk is an honoured member of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and the UMD Athletic Hall.
He is rightfully considered among the best of those from the city that are fondly recalled in local hockey lore.