Mike Ramsey (ice hockey)

For other people of the same name, see Mike Ramsey (disambiguation).

Mike Ramsey
Born	(1960-12-03) December 3, 1960 Minneapolis, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	NHL Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Red Wings
National team	United States
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1979 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	1980–1996

Mike Ramsey

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
	1980 Lake Placid	Ice hockey

Michael Allen Ramsey (born December 3, 1960 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who played 1070 regular season games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings between 1980 and 1997, after helping the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team win the gold medal in the Miracle On Ice.

Playing career

Amateur

Mike Ramsey attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis before entering the University of Minnesota. He was considered the 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 in Lake Placid, New York, that defeated the Soviet team and went on to win the gold medal in a victory known as the Miracle On Ice.

File:USA - Soviet Union 1980 match.jpg

Mike Ramsey during the game USA - Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic games in Lake Placid

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 was brought to the Pittsburgh Penguins by his old Buffalo coach Scotty Bowman in 1992–93 to shore up the Pens' defensive corps while making a run for a third-straight Stanley Cup victory. As the Penguins fell short of that goal, Ramsey was offloaded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1994. He played one more complete season plus an extra two games in 1996 (in the process losing to a team having Neal Broten, a Miracle on Ice teammate, on its squad) before finally retiring from the game.

Post-playing career

Ramsey returned to Minnesota after finishing his NHL career where he ran a sporting goods store named "Gold Medal Sports" and played senior league hockey. He returned to the NHL in 1997 to serve as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres and in 2000, he took a similar position with the Minnesota Wild. He was with the Wild until June 2010.

He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001

Family

Ramsey has three children: Hannah, Rachel and Jack. Hannah is a student at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Rachel, who played hockey at Minnetonka High School, plays defense for the University of Minnesota. During the 2011-2012 season, she was the Gopher's top-scoring freshman, the top-scoring rookie defenseman in the WCHA, was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team, and helped lead the team to back to back national championships in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Jack, who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, played his sophomore and junior hockey seasons at Minnetonka Highschool before forgoing his senior to play with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. As of 2013, he is committed play at the University of Minnesota.

In popular culture

Ramsey was played by Joseph Cure in the 2004 Disney film Miracle about the Miracle on Ice hockey team.

Ramsey did not appear in a 1981 TV movie called Miracle on Ice, except in archival game film and footage of the gold medal ceremony.

Awards and achievements

Award	Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	1979

• 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
1978-79	U. of Minnesota	NCAA		26	6	11	17	30		—	—	—	—	—
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				1070	79	266	345	1012		115	8	29	37	176

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1979-80	U.S. Olympic Team	Oly		63	11	24	35	63

See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played
• Miracle on Ice

External links

• Ramsey's bio at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Mike Ramsey's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Mike Ramsey's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Sporting positions
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.