Michael Busto

Michael Busto
Born	(1986-06-20) June 20, 1986 (age 38) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Ducs d'Angers HC Bolzano Las Vegas Wranglers Elmira Jackals Charlotte Checkers
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2007–2015

Michael Busto (born June 20, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for Ducs d'Angers of the French Ligue Magnus.

Playing career

Busto was born, in Burnaby, British Columbia. Busto played in the Western Hockey League with the Swift Current Broncos, Kootenay Ice, and Moose Jaw Warriors.

On April 27, 2007, Busto signed with the New York Rangers to a three-year, entry-level contract.^[1] Busto was then assigned to Rangers affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL.

Busto spent two seasons with the Checkers before on June 30, 2009, he was traded by the Rangers, along with Scott Gomez and Tom Pyatt, to the Montreal Canadiens for Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Doug Janik and Pavel Valentenko.^[2]

After completion of his entry-level contract, Busto was released as a free agent by the Canadiens to briefly play in 9 games with the Elmira Jackals during the 2009–10 season. He belatedly signed a one-year deal in Europe with Italian club, HC Bolzano of the Serie A on December 27, 2010.^[3] Busto played in 12 games for Bolzano before returning to the familiar ECHL for the following 2011–12 season with the Las Vegas Wranglers. Busto enjoyed his most successful season in the ECHL playing in a career high 65 games and contributing to the Wranglers playoff run as Kelly Cup finalists.

On June 25, 2012, Busto returned to Europe to sign an initial one-year contract with French club Ducs d'Angers of the Ligue Magnus.^[4] In the 2012–13 season with the Owls, Busto led the team from the blueline in scoring with 14 points in 26 games. He was signed to a two-year contract extension on May 7, 2013.^[5]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001–02	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL		3	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL		50	1	7	8	54		7	1	0	1	0
2003–04	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL		42	4	13	17	51		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Swift Current Broncos	WHL		26	0	0	0	29		5	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Kootenay Ice	WHL		71	8	21	29	79		16	1	5	6	27
2005–06	Kootenay Ice	WHL		69	8	35	43	77		4	0	4	4	4
2006–07	Kootenay Ice	WHL		70	20	43	63	79		6	1	2	3	9
2007–08	Charlotte Checkers	ECHL		48	4	12	16	10		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Charlotte Checkers	ECHL		54	3	8	11	41		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Dayton Gems	IHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Elmira Jackals	ECHL		9	1	3	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	HC Bolzano	ITL		12	1	2	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Las Vegas Wranglers	ECHL		65	1	12	13	33		15	1	2	3	9
2012–13	Ducs d'Angers	FRA		26	3	11	14	24		16	2	1	3	2
ECHL totals				176	9	35	44	84		15	1	2	3	9

References

1. "Rangers sign WHL defenseman Busto". rangers.nhl.com. 2007-05-16. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
2. "Montreal Canadiens acquire Scott Gomez from New York Rangers". ESPN. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
3. "Bolzano re-inforces defense with Busto" (in German). HC Bolzano. 2010-12-27. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
4. "Busto joins the team!" (in French). Ducs d'Angers. 2012-06-25. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
5. "Busto extends for two seasons" (in French). Twitter. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-05-07.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database