Rick Ley coached the Muskegon Lumberjacks for many of the seven years from 1985 to 1992 that Dave Michayluk ruled the L.C. Walker Arena. Back in 1988, Ley had this to say about his star player: “Dave Michayluk is a very hard worker and he comes to play every game. He’s a complete player, the kind you build a franchise around.”
And that’s exactly what the Lumberjacks did. “Boris” — the nickname Michayluk was given early on because his last name resembled that of Boris Mikhailov, the all-time leading goal scorer in the history of Russian hockey — scored at least 100 points in all seven seasons in Muskegon, which were highlighted by Turner Cup league championships in 1986 and 1989. He helped the team to league runner-up finishes in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992.

Michayluk was part of a Jacks dynamic trio with current MASHF member Jock Callander and Scott Gruhl. Michayluk has the most points in Lumberjacks history (769), the most points in a season (137), and career games played as a Lumberjack (564).

A fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1981 NHL Draft, he did not resign with the Flyers, and became an unrestricted free agent. Inked by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was called up to Pittsburgh along with teammates Jock Callander and Mike Needham for the playoffs.  Skating on “the Muskegon Line”, he scored a goal and had an assist, helping the injury-depleted Penguins and their star Mario Lemieux win the Stanley Cup in 1992.

Michayluk played the final five years of his career with the Cleveland Lumberjacks, retiring following the 1996-97 season ranked No. 2 in IHL history for career goals (594), No. 3 for career points (1,298) and No. 4 for career assists (704). Today, he ranks among the few in all levels of professional hockey to post nine consecutive 100 point seasons during his career.