Ron Busniuk, who starred at the University of Minnesota Duluth during the late 1960s, was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. 

Busniuk topped the team's scoring charts all three of his seasons with the Bulldogs (freshmen were not allowed to compete in NCAA Division I hockey at the time) and as a senior in 1969-70, he landed both All-American and All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association first team recognition. Selected the Bulldogs' Most Valuable Player in 1968-69 while working out of the center position, Busniuk was relocated to defense the following winter and won the same honor again. He was the recipient of UMD's Outstanding Senior Athlete Award for 1969-70 and went on to spend eight years in professional hockey ranks, which included stints with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres (1972-74) and the World Hockey Association's Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974-76), New England Whalers (1976-1977), and Edmonton Oilers (1977-78). After putting the wraps on his playing days, Busnuik served as head coach for the Thunder Bay Twins and directed that club to to a pair of Allan Cup titles as Canadian Senior A champions (1983-84 and 1984-85).