A Flame From the Past: Kelly Kisio

Do you remember Kelly Kisio?

Every once in a while, we take a look at a player who once played for the Calgary Flames in a series called “A Flame From the Past.” This player has to have played a significant number of games for the Flames. I’ll put every Flames’ season into a Wheel of Names, and this time, it landed on the 1993-94 season. In this article, we’ll take a look at Kelly Kisio.

Born in Peace River, Alberta, a town nearly 500 kilometres away from Edmonton, Kisio moved to Wetaskiwin, Alberta early in his life. Eventually, he joined the Alberta Junior Hockey league’s Red Deer Rustlers in 1976-77, scoring 53 goals and 101 points in 60 games. The following season, he was even better, potting 74 goals and 142 points in 58 games.

Joining the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers for his aged-19 season, Kisio scored 60 goals and 121 points in 70 games, along with 12 goals and 28 points in 15 post-season games. 

Despite the strong numbers, Kisio remained undrafted, and spent another season in the WHL. In his aged-20 season in 1979-80, the right-shot centre scored 65 goals and 138 points in 71 games, along with a goal in two playoff games.

Kisio was never drafted, instead turning professional and signing with the Detroit Red Wings’ organization. In 1980-81, he split his time between the International Hockey League’s Kalamazoo Wings and American Hockey League’s Adirondack Red Wings, scoring 37 goals and 67 points in 72 games. In the IHL playoffs, Kisio scored seven goals and 14 points in eight games.

Following that season, Kisio played for the Central Hockey League’ Dallas Black Hawks. In 78 games, Kisio scored an impressive 62 goals and 101 points, then added another 12 goals and 29 points in 16 playoff games.

Kisio went overseas for most of the 1982-83 season, scoring 49 goals and 87 points in 38 games with Switzerland’s HC Davos. On top of setting the record for most goals in a National League game with eight, Kisio’s 49 goals in a season are tied for the fourth-most in league history.

Despite impressive scoring numbers throughout his career, Kisio finally made his NHL debut at the age of 23, playing the final 15 games with the Detroit Red Wings. He scored four goals and seven points.

Kisio spent the rest of his career in the NHL. In 1983-84, he scored 23 goals and 60 points in 70 games, along with his first career playoff goal. He followed that up with a 20 goal, 61 point season in 1984-85, also with the Red Wings. He set a new career-high in points in his final season with the Red Wings, scoring 21 goals and 69 points in 76 games.

He was traded to the New York Rangers in the summer of 1986, as the two Original Six teams made a four-player, three-draft pick trade. In 1986-87, he scored a then-career-best 24 goals with 40 assists. In 1987-88, Kisio scored 23 goals and a career-best 78 points, followed up by a career-best 26 goals with 62 points in 70 games during the 1988-89 season.

The right-shot centre’s penultimate season with the Rangers was in 1988-90, when he scored 22 goals and 66 points. He also played a career-high 10 post-season games, scoring two goals and 10 points, nearly half his playoff point total. Unfortunately, Kisio departed the Rangers well before their Stanley Cup win in 1994, scoring 15 goals and 35 points in 51 games during his final season with the Rangers in 1990-91.

In the summer of 1991, the National Hockey League held a dispersal and expansion draft with the San Jose Sharks coming into the league. First was the dispersal draft, where the Sharks picked 24 players from the Minnesota North Stars. It was a whole thing, but the Sharks ended up taking North Stars’ forward Shane Churla in the dispersal draft.

Then both teams alternated picks from other teams in the league, the expansion process of the draft. The North Stars ended up selecting Kisio, and less than a week later, the North Stars and Sharks exchanged the two players. This happened to be the fourth trade in Sharks’ history.

Kisio only spent two seasons with the Sharks, scoring 11 goals and 37 points in 48 games during their inaugural season in 1991-92. He followed that up with arguably the best season of his career, matching his career-high of 26 goals and 78 points in 78 games.

Before the 1993-94 season, Kisio signed with the Flames, scoring seven goals and 30 points in 51 games, adding two assists in seven games that post-season. His final season in the NHL was in 1994-95, scoring seven goals and 11 points in 12 regular season games, then scoring a career-best three goals in seven playoff games, which happened to be against the seventh-seeded Sharks.

After retiring, Kisio joined the Flames’ scouting staff for a few seasons. Beginning in 1998-99, Kisio served as general manager of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. He spent four seasons as their head coach from 2004-05 until 2007-08, then split his duties being a general manager and as the Hitmen’s Vice President of Hockey Operations in 2011-12 and 2012-13. From 2013-14 until 2015-16, he served as the Hitmen’s President of Hockey Operations.

Kisio joined the Vegas Golden Knights’ organization in 2016-17 as a professional scout, a role that he’s remained in since.