A Career That Took Off

The player applying a solid hook on the Hartford Whalers forward is none other than Rod Buskas. Normally, this is where I'd tell you something remarkable about Rod Buskas' career that is worthy of me writing an article about it, but Rod Buskas spent parts of 13 seasons in the NHL as a defenceman for four teams. Buskas never set any records or had nights where he took over a game, but he was a serviceable defender in the NHL who did the dirty work in terms of mucking it up with opposing players while averaging around eight points per season. I can hear a few of you asking, "Why are you writing this?"

Buskas was a sixth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins at 112th-overall in 1981 after a solid WHL career with the Medicine Hat Tigers where he scored 22 goals and 98 assists while picking up 508 PIMs in 178 games. He was a tough customer who cleared the front of the net while playing some solid defence, and the Penguins wanted Buskas as an option if needed.

He'd move to the AHL's Erie Blades in 1981-82 where he played a more refined game as he scored one goal and added 18 helpers while only spending 78 minutes in the sin bin through 69 AHL games. His playmaking abilities caught the eye of the Penguins who shuffled him between Pittsburgh and the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks in 1982-83 to the tune of 41 games in the NHL compared to 31 in the AHL. His 102 PIMs in Pittsburgh showed he wasn't backing down from some of the rough stuff in the game's top league, and the Penguins continued the Pittsburgh-Baltimore shuffle with Buskas in 1983-84 with 47 games in the NHL and 33 in the AHL.

From there, Buskas played in five-straight seasons with the Penguins as a regular on their blueline where he had 12 goals and 42 assists, but a whopping 784 PIMs, in 337 games over that time. A very weird 1989-90 season saw Buskas traded to Vancouver on October 24 for a sixth-round pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft that resulted in Buskas playing in 17 games for the Canucks before the Canucks traded him back to Pittsburgh, along with Tony Tanti and Barry Pederson, for Dave Capuano, Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn on January 8, 1990! Buskas would see action in six games with the Penguins in his return to the Steel City, and that sixth-round pick he was traded for eventually turned into Ian Moran in the 1990 Draft.

October 1990 saw Buskas on the move once again as the Penguins waived the defender, and he was claimed by the Los Angeles Kings who needed some blue line help. In 57 games with the Kings, he's score three goals and add 11 assists against 182 PIMs before falling into the seventh defender role heading into the playoffs after Tim Watters recovered from an injury.

Buskas played five games with the Kings to start the 1991-92 season before the Kings shipped him to Chicago in a trade for Chris Norton and future considerations. The Blackhawks were loaded with talent on their blue line with the likes of Chris Chelios, Steve Smith, Keith Brown, and Bryan Marchment eating the bulk of the minutes, so Buskas competed with Steve Konroyd, Franticek Kucera, and Igor Kravchuk for ice time. Needless to say, his 42 games was a result of this abundance of talent, but he didn't have the same impact as he once did while playing regular minutes.

Buskas would find himself in Indianapolis with the IHL's Ice to start the season before moving to the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles after a four-game recall by the Blackhawks. Those four games would the last NHL games that Buskas played as his final pro hockey games in 1993-94 and 1994-95 were played with the IHL's Las Vegas Thunder. When all was said and done, Rod Buskas' career saw him play in 556 NHL games, amassing 19 goals, 63 assists, and 1294 PIMs!

At this point, you might be asking where his career took off to which the title of this article alludes. What if I told you that I wasn't referring to his hockey career at all with that title because Rod Buskas went and did something else while playing hockey? What was it, you ask?

While Buskas was skating in the NHL, he was learning how to fly airplanes to the effect that he received his private pilot's license before retiring! At first, Buskas was doing the most basic of flying as he was taking single-engine Cessnas into the skies as he gained important time in the cockpit, but he's parlayed that learning into a commercial pilot's license as he's now a senior Hawaiian Airlines pilot who has flown all over the world!

Buskas started flying for Hawaiian Airlines shortly before the 9/11 tragedy which forced the airlines to make drastic changes. One of those changes was that Buskas was furloughed for about four years before the airline could hire him back. Once back in the pilot's seat, though, Buskas has been a dedicated employee as he's flown the Las Vegas-Honolulu route often as part of his schedule.

"I do a lot of Vegas because that sends me home, but I could end up going to any one of our routes," Buskas told Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Home, it should be noted, was the last place he played as Rod Buskas, hs wife, and two children settled in Las Vegas where Buskas could begin his second career.

"I didn’t know where else I wanted to move," Buskas told Anderson of settling in the Las Vegas area. "I was starting my career in aviation. I thought Vegas was a perfect spot. We went there for one year, and we're there about 27 years later."

Buskas is still following to this day as he's a season ticket holder to the Vegas Golden Knights which he enjoys. In terms of playing, he's suited for the Penguins for a heritage game or two, and he routinely skates with the Air Line Pilots Association in their events which includes a Hawaiian Airlines Jets team! When he's not flying the skies, Buskas also has property in Hawaii where he spends time!

It's not often you find a 60 year-old, rough-and-tumble defender who has an amazing career like Rod Buskas does both in hockey and after he's left the game, but his is a fantastic story about finding what you love doing and pursuing it. He found two amazing careers that he loved, and he seems to have transitioned nicely from flying down the wing to flying through the air!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!