Career
He was drafted in the 6th round, 113th Overall in the 1981 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. He played 345 games in the National Hockey League over parts of 10 seasons, amassing 72 goals and 163 points. Habscheid"s parents were both born in Luxembourg before moving to Canada.
Habscheid played three seasons with the Western Hockey League"s Saskatoon Blades before turning pro.
This included the 1981-1982 campaign where Habscheid had 151 points, second only to Bruce Eakin in team scoring. He also played in the 1982 World Junior Hockey Championship, leading Canada to its first ever gold medal at the tournament.
That season he played 7 games with the Oilers, scoring 4 points. He played 4 more seasons with the Oilers, before he was suspended by the team for refusing to report to the AHL"s Nova Scotia Voyageurs and subsequently dealt to Minnesota in December, 1985.
Habscheid played 7 more National Hockey League seasons with Minnesota, Detroit, and Calgary.
He also represented Canada internationally twice, at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 World Championships. Habscheid went on to play 5 more seasons of hockey (2 in Switzerland, 2 with the IHL"s Las Vegas Thunder, and one final season in 1995-1996 with the DEL"s Augsburger Panther). He retired officially in 1996.
Habscheid got his start in coaching in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Melfort Mustangs.
He then moved on to coach the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. On November 29, 1999, he was named head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. Habscheid was also head coach of the 2003 Canadian World Junior team, becoming the first player to represent Canada at the tournament as both a player and coach.
He was subsequently named head coach for all international tournaments on July 29, 2005. As well, Habscheid served as an assistant coach for Canada at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
On June 3, 2009, Habschied was named as head coach and general manager of the Chilliwack Bruins, a major junior team in the Western Hockey League which has since moved to Victoria, British Columbia to become the Royals.
On November 4, 2014, Habscheid returned to the WHL coaching ranks when he accepted the Prince Albert Raiders head coaching position.