After playing junior football for the Regina Rams, Bahnuik moved up the the "big team" and played defensive tackle for the Riders from 1966 through 1974.  Bahniuk was on the rider practice for all of 1966 and dressed for the playoff games but not for the Grey Cup though he was with the team in Vancouver.  With no defensive tackle or quarterback sack statistics kept for those years, there are not many stats on Bahnuik, but he did record 9 fumble recoveries during his career, including four in 1970.  Bahnuik was also a very durable performer for the Riders, missing just two games in his eight year career..