Travis Richards

Travis Richards
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (89 kg)
Teams	Grand Rapids Griffins Dallas Stars
Born	(1970-03-22)March 22, 1970, Crystal, MN, USA
NHL Draft	169th overall, 1988 Minnesota North Stars
Pro Career	1993 – 2006

Travis Richards (born March 22, 1970 in Crystal, Minnesota) is a former professional ice hockey defenseman.

Richards graduated from Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minnesota in 1989. Richards was a member of the University of Minnesota Gophers hockey program before making his professional debut during the 1993-94 season. A child psychology major, Richards would spend four years at the University of Minnesota where his brother Todd was a Gopher from 1985 to 1989. Earning WCHA Second Team All-Star honors on defense in 1992 and in 1993, Richards would join the US National Team at the 1993 World Championships at the end of his senior year.

Drafted by the now-defunct Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League in the ninth round (169th overall) of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Richards played only three games in the NHL for the Dallas Stars.

On July 26, 1996, Richards became the second player ever to sign with the Grand Rapids Griffins, then of the International Hockey League, now of the American Hockey League. Richards played in each of the team's first ten seasons and became team captain in 2001. He holds the record for most career games as a Griffin with 642. Richards's number 24 was retired by the Griffins upon his retirement, becoming the first number retired by the club.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1989–90	U. of Minnesota	NCAA		45	4	24	28	38		-	-	-	-	-
1990–91	U. of Minnesota	NCAA		45	9	25	34	28		-	-	-	-	-
1991–92	U. of Minnesota	NCAA		44	10	23	33	65		-	-	-	-	-
1992–93	U. of Minnesota	NCAA		42	12	26	38	54		-	-	-	-	-
1993–94	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		19	2	10	12	20		4	1	1	2	0
1994–95	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		63	4	16	20	53		15	1	5	6	12
1994–95	Dallas Stars	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
1995–96	Michigan K-Wings	IHL		65	8	15	23	55		9	2	2	4	4
1995–96	Dallas Stars	NHL		1	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
1996–97	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		77	10	13	23	83		5	1	3	4	2
1997–98	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		81	12	20	32	70		3	1	1	2	4
1998–99	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		82	9	23	32	84		-	-	-	-	-
1999–00	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		71	5	23	28	47		17	1	7	8	16
2000–01	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		75	5	30	35	42		10	0	5	5	8
2001–02	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		72	6	23	29	36		5	0	1	1	2
2002–03	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		73	6	21	27	52		15	0	4	4	6
2003–04	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		76	2	22	24	48		4	1	0	1	2
2004–05	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		35	1	3	4	30		-	-	-	-	-
2005–06	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		13	0	4	4	10		-	-	-	-	-
NHL totals				3	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-

External links

• Travis Richards's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Article Announcing Richards's Jersey Retirement