| Mike Ramsey | |
| |
| Position | Defenceman |
| Shot | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Teams | Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Red Wings |
| Nationality |  American
|
| Born | December 3, 1960, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| NHL Draft | 11th overall, 1979 Buffalo Sabres |
| Pro Career | 1980 – 1996 |
Michael Allen ("Mike") Ramsey (born December 3, 1960) is an American former professional defenceman who played 1070 regular season games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings between 1980 and 1996.
Playing career[]
Amateur[]
Mike Ramsey attended Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis before entering the University of Minnesota He was considered top high school defenseman in Minnesota as a senior in 1977–78. He also attended the U.S. National Junior training camp in summer of 1978 and participated in the 1979 world junior championship. Ramsey was the youngest member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal in an event known as the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Olympics.
Professional[]
Drafted 11th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Ramsey would go on to play in the National Hockey League immediately after the Olympics. He had one of the most successful NHL careers of the 1980 U.S. Olympians. Primarily known as an offensive defenseman as an amateur, he successfully adapted to the bigger and tougher NHL by becoming a "stay at home" defensive specialist for the Sabres. Highlights of his career with the Sabres include playing in the NHL All-Star Game four times (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986) as well as being a member of the NHL All-Star team that played the Soviet national hockey team in Rendez-Vous '87. Ramsey also served as the Sabres team captain during his 14 seasons with club. He continued to play for Team USA, participating in the 1984 Canada Cup, 1982 Ice Hockey World Championship and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments.
Ramsey's old coach in Buffalo, Scotty Bowman, brought him to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1992–93 season to shore up the team's defensive corps as it made a run at a third straight Stanley Cup championship. However, the Penguins were upset in the second round by the New York Islanders. After another season in Pittsburgh, Ramsey signed with the Detroit Red Wings, who by now were also coached by Bowman, as a free agent. In April 1995, Ramsey became teammates with defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov when Detroit acquired the latter in a trade with the New Jersey Devils; Fetisov had played for the Soviets during the 1980 Olympics. That year, Ramsey played in his first Stanley Cup Finals series, but the Red Wings were swept by the Devils, who had Ramsey's 1980 Olympic teammate, Neal Broten, on their roster. The next season, the powerful Red Wings set a league record for most wins in a single season with 62, but were ousted in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Ramsey played only two games for Detroit in the 1996-97 season before retiring.
Post-playing career[]
Ramsey returned to Minnesota after finishing his NHL career where he ran a sporting goods store and played senior league hockey. He has been an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild since 2000 after serving in the same capacity for the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2000.
Mike Ramsey was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001
Awards and achievements[]
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1979 | [1] |
| Stanley Cup Detroit Red Wings | 1997 |
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986)
- Played in NHL Rendez-Vous '87
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977–78 | Roosevelt High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 26 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | United States National Team | Intl | 56 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1980–81 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 72 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 56 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 1981–82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 1982–83 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 8 | 30 | 38 | 55 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 15 | ||
| 1983–84 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 72 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 82 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1984–85 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 102 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | ||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 76 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 109 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 63 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 77 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 29 | ||
| 1988–89 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 56 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 84 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1989–90 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 47 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1990–91 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 71 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 66 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 67 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1992–93 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 33 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1993–94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 65 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 33 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,070 | 79 | 266 | 345 | 1,012 | 115 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 176 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | United States | WJC | 6th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 1980 | United States | OG | 
|
7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 1982 | United States | WC | 8th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 1984 | United States | CC | 4th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1987 | United States | CC | 5th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||||
| Senior totals | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 | ||||
See also[]
- List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
- Miracle on Ice
References[]
- ↑ "NCAA Frozen Four Records", NCAA.org. Retrieved on 2013-06-19.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Ramsey's bio at hockeydraftcentral.com
| Preceded by Larry Playfair |
Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick 1979 |
Succeeded by Steve Patrick |
| Preceded by Mike Foligno |
Buffalo Sabres captain 1991–92 |
Succeeded by Pat LaFontaine |
Note: Ramsey was named Sabres captain during the 1990–91 NHL season (after Foligno was traded). He later resigned the captaincy during the 1992–93 NHL season, in favor of LaFontaine.