Career

Playing career

Muckalt played Junior A in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) with the Merritt Centennials and briefly with the Kelowna Spartans before joining the college ranks with the University of Michigan of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) in 1994. While with Merritt, Muckalt was involved in a check from behind that rendered the opposing player a quadriplegic. Muckalt played four years for the Wolverines and was named to the CCHA and NCAA West First All-Star Teams in his senior year in 1998. The school won two NCAA titles while Muckalt was a sophomore in 1996 and a senior in 1998. The 1996 championship team also featured future NHLers Brendan Morrison, Jason Botterill and goalie Marty Turco.

Muckalt was selected in the ninth round (221st overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by his hometown Vancouver Canucks. After a full four-year career in the college ranks, he was ready to make a bid for a full-time roster spot in the NHL with the Canucks in 1998-99. He played his first NHL game with the Canucks on October 12, 1998, against the Los Angeles Kings, notching his first NHL point, as well - an assist. Eight days later, Muckalt scored his first NHL goal on October 20 against the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in 73 games during his rookie season, scoring 16 goals and 36 points, becoming a rising star in Vancouver.

Despite this early success in Vancouver, Muckalt was traded to the New York Islanders along with Dave Scatchard and goalie Kevin Weekes in exchange for goalie Felix Potvin and draft picks midway through the 1999-2000 season on December 19, 1999. Shortly after debuting with the Islanders, however, he was sidelined for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 13, 2000. After a full season with the Islanders in 2000-01, he was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Ottawa Senators on June 23, 2001. On NHL draft day, Muckalt was dealt to Ottawa along with up-and-coming defenceman Zdeno Chara and the Islanders' first round pick in 2001 (which Ottawa would use to select Jason Spezza), in exchange for star centre Alexei Yashin.

Muckalt spent only one season with Ottawa, registering no goals and eight assists in 70 games, before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on July 3, 2002. After failing to score a single goal during the previous season, Muckalt came roaring out of the gate in 2002-03, registering five goals and eight points in his first five games with Minnesota before dislocating his right shoulder in a game against the Calgary Flames on October 22, 2002. The injury was severe enough to end Muckalt's season and keep him sidelined for the majority of the next as well.

He would not play another regular season NHL game, though he did attempt a comeback with the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Houston Aeros, registering three assists in nine games in 2003-04. In 2006, Muckalt signed as a free agent in Russia with Vityaz Chekhov, though he would ultimately never play with the team.

Coaching

Muckalt began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Eastern Michigan Eagles in 2006-07, moving up to head coach the following year. In 2009-10, Muckalt served as head coach of the Valencia Flyers of the Western States Hockey League, guiding the team to a 23-21-5 record and a fifth-place finish in the WSHL Western Division. On March 28, 2010, he was named head coach of the New Mexico Mustangs, a North American Hockey League (NAHL) expansion team. Muckalt led the development of the franchise's coaching, recruiting and scouting systems. With 21 rookies on the roster, the Mustangs went 19-35-4 in their first year, winning 15 of their last 27 games. In the off-season, he accepted a position as an assistant coach with Michigan Tech of the NCAA Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and has been an assist coach at Michigan Tech since the 2011-12 season.

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-CCHA Rookie Team	1994-95
All-CCHA First Team	1997-98
AHCA West First-Team All-American	1997-98

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992-93	Merritt Centennials	BCJHL		59	31	43	74	80		—	—	—	—	—
1993-94	Merritt Centennials	BCJHL		57	70	61	131	119		—	—	—	—	—
1994-95	University of Michigan	NCAA		39	19	18	37	42		—	—	—	—	—
1995-96	University of Michigan	NCAA		41	28	30	58	34		—	—	—	—	—
1996-97	University of Michigan	NCAA		36	26	38	64	69		—	—	—	—	—
1997-98	University of Michigan	NCAA		46	32	35	67	94		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		73	16	20	36	98		—	—	—	—	—
1999-2000	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		33	4	8	12	17		—	—	—	—	—
1999-2000	New York Islanders	NHL		12	4	3	7	4		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	New York Islanders	NHL		60	11	15	26	33		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Ottawa Senators	NHL		70	0	8	8	46		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Minnesota Wild	NHL		8	5	3	8	6		5	0	0	0	0
2003-04	Houston Aeros	AHL		9	0	3	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				256	40	57	97	204		5	0	0	0	0
NCAA totals				162	114	121	225	239		—	—	—	—	—

[ Source: Wikipedia ]