Steve Tambellini

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Steve Tambellini (born on May 14, 1958 in Trail, British Columbia, Canada) is a former NHL player and is currently the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the Vancouver Canucks hockey franchise in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1 Playing career
- 1.1 International Play
2 After Retirement
3 Career Statistics
4 External links

[edit] Playing career

Steve Tambellini played his minor league hockey for the Lethbridge Broncos of the WHL from the 1975-76 season until the 1977-78 season, where he scored 155 goals and notched 181 assists in 193 games. He would earn the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the top rookie in the league for his effort in the 1975-76 season.

In the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, Tambellini was chosen 15th overall by the New York Islanders. He would spend two years with New York, winning a Stanley Cup with them in the 1980 season. Despite this cup victory, he would be traded late in the next season to the Colorado Rockies. He stayed with Colorado for two seasons, including their first season as the New Jersey Devils as the franchise was relocated in 1982. After the 1982-83 season, Steve was traded to the Calgary Flames. He would remain there for two seasons before signing on as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks, where he would round out his NHL career.

He would go on to play a minor amount of time in both the Swiss Hockey League and the Austrian Hockey League.

[edit] International Play

During his career, Steve Tambellini would represent Canada on three separate occasions. In 1978 he would play for Team Canada in the World Junior Hockey Championship, winning a bronze medal after scoring two goals and two assists. He would also play in the World Hockey Championship and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in the latter of which he scored 11 goals.

[edit] After Retirement

After his retirement from hockey, he was hired by the Canucks as the Director of Public and Media Relations and has remained with the franchise ever since. In 1997, he would be promoted to Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. In 1998 his position would change again, this time to the Vice President of Player Personnel. In this position he would oversee player development and professional player scouting. He would excel at this position, eventually being named to his current role as Assistant General Manager.

In 2002, he would win an Olympic gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City as the Director of Player Personnel for the team. He would be rewarded again, being named the Director of Player Personnel for both the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championship as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, in both of which he would see his team win gold.

In the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, his oldest son, Jeff Tambellini, was drafted 27th overall by the Los Angeles Kings.

In 2004, he would be inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame.

[edit] Career Statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1975-76	Lethbridge Broncos	WCHL	72	38	59	97	42
1976-77	Lethbridge Broncos	WCHL	55	42	42	84	23
1977-78	Lethbridge Broncos	WCHL	66	75	80	155	32
1976-77	Fort Worth Texans	CHL	73	25	27	52	32	5	0	1	1	0
1978-79	New York Islanders	NHL	1	0	0	0	0
1979-80	New York Islanders	NHL	45	5	8	13	4
1980-81	New York Islanders	NHL	61	19	17	36	17
1980-81	Colorado Rockies	NHL	13	6	12	18	2
1981-82	Colorado Rockies	NHL	79	29	30	59	14
1982-83	New Jersey Devils	NHL	73	25	18	43	14
1983-84	Calgary Flames	NHL	73	15	10	25	16	2	0	1	1	0
1984-85	Moncton Golden Flames	AHL	7	2	5	7	0
1984-85	Calgary Flames	NHL	47	19	10	29	4
1985-86	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	48	15	15	30	12
1986-87	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	72	16	20	36	14
1987-88	Canadian Nation Team	Intl	10	2	3	5	2
1987-88	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	41	11	10	21	8
1987-88	Villach VSV	Aust	36	44	37	81	34
NHL totals			553	160	150	310	105	2	0	1	1	0