Behind the ECHL Benches - Terry Ruskowski, Quad City Mallards

Terry Ruskowski is one of the most successful coaches in all of minor league hockey. Ruskowski has gone 730-522-131 over the course of his 21- year professional head coaching career. He embarks upon his fifth season as Quad City Mallards head coach and general manager and has led the team to the postseason in each of the previous four seasons.

Ruskowski went 442- 251-79 while spending 12 seasons in the Central Hockey League from 2002-14. He ranks second in CHL history with 772 games coached and is tied for second in career CHL coaching wins. prior to taking over the Mallards, he enjoyed great success over nine years with the Laredo Bucks and one campaign with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. Ruskowski piloted the Bucks to four straight finals appearances between 2004 and 2007, and twice won the CHL title (2004 and 2006) with Laredo. In 2011-12, the Killer Bees rebounded to post a 32-27-7 record under Ruskowski after enduring back-to-back losing seasons immediately prior to his arrival.

Ruskowski returned to the ECHL in 2014 after last coaching in the league two decades earlier. He went 96-80-20 in three seasons as coach of the Columbus Chill from 1991-94. From Columbus, he went on to take the reins of the International Hockey League’s Houston Aeros and United Hockey League’s Knoxville Speed before beginning his hugely successful CHL run.

The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native played 999 career games for six teams - the Houston Aeros, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, pittsburgh penguins and Minnesota North Stars - over 15 seasons in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association. Ruskowski is also the only player in major professional hockey history to have captained four different clubs: the Aeros, Blackhawks, Kings and Penguins.