Mike Buzak attended Michigan State University and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round in 1993. He later signed with the Los Angeles Kings and later with the Devils.
Mike spent 1998-99 with the Albany River Rats of the AHL, where he posted a 2.57 GAA and .915 SV%, winning 22 games.
In January 1999, Devils backup goalie Chris Terreri contracted the flu and Buzak was brought up to the NHL to back up for Martin Brodeur.
Mike would split the 1999-00 season between the AHL, IHL, and ECHL, and then spent 3 seasons in the WCHL with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.
Getting pucks signed by guys who dressed but never played isn’t always very easy. Obviously, the odds of finding a signed puck for sale somewhere are much lower. So they usually come down to finding the guy, trying to make contact, and hoping they are willing to sign.
Having just found Mike’s name on a new list of Devils “backup only” goalies I located, I started by looking on Facebook. Found him in about 30 seconds. Messaged him and to my surprise, he responded immediately. I explained the project, asked if he would be willing to help, and he immediately agreed.
Always nice to add a new puck to the collection, but equally as nice to find a player who is also a really nice guy and is happy to provide an autograph for a fan. Very thankful to Mike for responding!
NJ Devils Goalie Puck Project 