| Eddie Bumbacco | |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 175 |
| Position: | Left wing |
| Played For: | Notre Dame |
| Career Start: | 1970 |
| Career End: | 1974 |
| Draft: | 142nd overall |
| Draft Year: | 1972 |
| Draft Team: | Montreal Canadiens |
Edward M. Bumbacco is a Canadian retired ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Notre Dame.
Bumbacco was a hot commodity as a junior player, being selected by the Toronto Marlboros in the 1969 OHA Priority Selection. He decided to remain with his junior-B club, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and produced a fantastic season, scoring at a nearly 3-point-per-game pace. Bumbacco led the Greyhounds to a league championship and was named as the playoff MVP. In the 1970 Memorial Cup Sault Ste. Marie received a bye into the quarterfinal round but were defeated by eventual champion Montreal Junior Canadiens four games to one.
After the season Bumbacco began attending the University of Notre Dame and played four seasons with the varsity hockey team. Bumbacco missed part of his freshman season due to a bout of mononucleosis and then had surgery to repair a separated shoulder in the offseason. Prior to his sophomore season the Fighting Irish joined the WCHA and the team was predictably near the bottom of league standings. Bumbacco did, however, acquit himself well enough to be selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL Draft.[1]
The next year it appeared that Montreal may have made a very shrewd pick when Bumbacco went on a scoring rampage, posting the best offensive season for any Notre Dame player in history.[2] Bumbacco's 90-point season placed him second in the nation and helped Notre Dame finish second in the WCHA. Bumbacco was one of Notre Dame's first two All-Americans (the other being Bill Nyrop) and the Fighting Irish came within a goal of making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. There were high hopes that Notre Dame could contend in Bumbacco's senior season but the winger's point totals were nearly halved and the Irish dropped back to 8th place in the conference.
Bumbacco chose to end his playing career after graduating and he returned to Sault Ste. Marie to work as an executive in the steel industry.
Bumbacco's father, Angelo, became the general manager for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when Eddie was in college. Angelo was instrumental in bringing Wayne Gretzky onto the team and also suggested that the teenage phenom wear the number '99'. Angelo died on October 27, 2020.[3]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1967–68 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | NOJHL | 17 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | NOJHL | 48 | 32 | 25 | 57 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | NOJHL | 44 | 65 | 54 | 119 | 44 | 12 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 8 | ||
| 1970–71 | Notre Dame | NCAA | 25 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Notre Dame | WCHA | 34 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Notre Dame | WCHA | 38 | 43 | 47 | 90 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Notre Dame | WCHA | 36 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NOJHL Totals | 109 | 99 | 88 | 187 | 74 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 10 | ||||
| NCAA Totals | 133 | 103 | 117 | 220 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-WCHA First Team | 1972–73 | [4] |
| AHCA West All-American | 1972–73 | [5] |