Ron Grahame Explained

Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:175
Played For:Houston Aeros
Boston Bruins
Los Angeles Kings
Quebec Nordiques
Birth Date:7 June 1950
Birth Place:Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:1973
Career End:1981

Ronald Ian Grahame (born June 7, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League and four in World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1981.

Playing career

After a collegiate career with the University of Denver during which he was named a First Team All-American, Grahame was signed by the Houston Aeros of the WHA. He played a season for the minor league Macon Whoopees in 1973 before coming up to the Aeros at the end of the season. In the 1974–75 season he made the Aeros for good, leading the WHA in wins, shutouts and goals against average and backstopping the club to the AVCO World Trophy, winning both the Ben Hatskin Trophy for best goaltender, First Team All-Star accolades and the WHA Playoff MVP. His following two seasons saw an equal degree of success, including a Second Team All-Star berth in 1976 and a second Hatskin award in 1977.

He became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with the NHL's Boston Bruins for the 1977–78 NHL season. He continued his starring play, having a fine season as the Bruins' number one goaltender. After that season, however, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a first-round draft pick in the 1979 draft (which turned into Ray Bourque), and played poorly thereafter. He served with the Kings for three seasons before being sold to the Quebec Nordiques in December, 1980. He played eight games for the Nordiques before being sent down to the minors for the remainder of the season, after which he retired.

Post-playing career

After retiring, Ron Grahame worked as the athletic director at the University of Denver, where he worked with the hockey team. He also conducted goalie clinics for ice hockey and inline hockey goaltenders

In 2007 Grahame began his second year as Senior Associate Athletics Director, and his 14th year as an administrator at the University of Denver. He was responsible for the overall supervision of all 17 varsity sport programs at Denver.

Grahame graduated from the University of Denver in 1973 with a B.A. in physical education and was one of the most successful hockey players in school history. After retiring from playing, he returned to Denver as an assistant coach from 1982 to 1989.

Ron and his wife Charlotte have two sons, John, an NHL goaltender who won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Jason, who graduated from the University of Denver in 2003 and now lives in Vancouver. Ron and Charlotte reside in Denver. Charlotte and John are the only mother/son combination to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup (Charlotte was a member of the Colorado Avalanche executive management during their 2001 Stanley Cup season).

Awards and honours

AwardYear
All-WCHA First Team1972–73[1]
AHCA West All-American1972–73[2]
World Hockey Association Hall of Fame - Inaugural member2010[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1967–68Victoria CougarsBCHL
1968–69Victoria CougarsBCHL23 2380 73 0 3.17
1969–70University of DenverWCHA30 19 10 1 1800 103 1 3.43 .883
1970–71University of DenverWCHA17 11 7 1 1020 70 1 4.12
1971–72University of DenverWCHA37 26 11 0 2200 132 0 3.60 .894
1972–73University of DenverWCHA35 26 7 1 2094 102 2 2.92 .921
1973–74Houston AerosWHA4 3 0 1 250 5 1 1.20 .959
1973–74Macon WhoopeesSHL46 2588 178 0 4.13 .887
1974–75Houston AerosWHA43 33 10 0 2590 131 4 3.03 .90013 12 1 780 26 3 2.00 .941
1975–76Houston AerosWHA57 39 17 0 3343 182 3 3.27 .89614 6 8 817 54 1 3.97
1976–77Houston AerosWHA39 20 17 2 3345 107 4 2.74 .9019 4 5 561 36 0 3.85 .864
1977–78Boston BruinsNHL40 26 6 7 2328 107 3 2.76 .8744 2 1 202 7 0 2.08 .894
1978–79Los Angeles KingsNHL34 11 19 2 1935 136 0 4.22 .862
1979–80Los Angeles KingsNHL26 9 11 4 1406 98 2 4.18 .875
1980–81Los Angeles KingsNHL6 3 2 1 360 28 0 4.67 .859
1980–81Quebec NordiquesNHL8 1 5 1 437 40 0 5.49 .832
1980–81Binghamton WhalersAHL30 12 6 2 1240 72 0 3.48 .8785 289 22 0 4.57
WHA totals143 102 37 3 8528 425 12 2.99 .90036 22 14 2158 116 4 3.23
NHL totals114 50 43 15 6457 409 5 3.80 .8664 2 1 202 7 0 2.08 .894

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: WCHA All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  2. News: Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners. NCAA.org. June 11, 2013.
  3. http://www.whahof.com/hofmembers.html WHA Hall of Fame Members