| Position: | Center |
| Played For: | Montreal Canadiens Minnesota North Stars |
| Ntl Team: | United States |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lb: | 170 |
| Birth Date: | 19 December 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Hibbing, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Draft: | Undrafted |
| Career Start: | 1975 |
| Career End: | 1981 |
Michael John Polich (born December 19, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 226 games in the National Hockey League from 1977 to 1981. He won the Stanley Cup in 1977 with the Montreal Canadiens and played in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars.
Polich was a college hockey star for the University of Minnesota and also played for Team USA at the 1974 and 1975 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments before signing a free agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in 1975. Polich spent most of the next three seasons in Canadiens system with their farm team the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League, but he did get his name on the Stanley Cup in 1977 as a reserve on the Canadiens' championship winning team. He also played for Team USA in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament. Polich's NHL career finally took off after he signed for the Minnesota North Stars in 1978 where he became an accomplished defensive specialist and penalty killer. He finally retired in 1981 after three years as a regular North Star.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 1969–70 | Hibbing High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Hibbing High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 32 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 34 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 40 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | University of Minnesota | B1G | 42 | 25 | 37 | 62 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 75 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 66 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 69 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 48 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 79 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 70 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1978–79 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 73 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Oklahoma City Stars | CHL | 9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| AHL totals | 223 | 65 | 98 | 163 | 184 | 31 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 16 | ||||
| NHL totals | 226 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 57 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | United States | WC-B | 7 | 7 | 5 | 12 | — | ||
| 1975 | United States | WC | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 34 | ||
| 1976 | United States | CC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Senior totals | 22 | 10 | 11 | 21 | — | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1974 | [1] |
| All-WCHA First Team | 1974–75 | [2] |
| AHCA West All-American | 1974–75 | [3] |