- Bill Ranford
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position =Goaltender
glove = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 185
played_for =Boston Bruins Edmonton Oilers Washington Capitals Tampa Bay Lightning Detroit Red Wings
league = NHL
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1966|12|14|mf=y
birth_place = Brandon, MB, CAN
career_start =1985
career_end =2000
draft = Rnd 3, 52nd overall
draft_year = 1985
draft_team =Boston Bruins
image_size =
nickname =William Edward Ranford, better known as Bill Ranford (born
December 14 , 1966 in Brandon,Manitoba ,Canada ) is a former professionalice hockey goaltender . He graduated fromNew Westminster Secondary School in 1985. He was selected in the third round of the1985 NHL Entry Draft , 52nd overall, by theBoston Bruins . Over the course of fifteen NHL seasons, Ranford would play with Boston, theEdmonton Oilers ,Washington Capitals ,Tampa Bay Lightning , andDetroit Red Wings , winning twoStanley Cup s, a Canada Cup, and the 1994 Hockey World Championships while playing for Canada.Early life & Career
As a child, Ranford took
figure skating lessons [ [http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18360 Legends of Hockey Biography] ] , before eventually decided to go into goaltending. Because his father was in the armed forces, Ranford lived inGermany for a few years, as well as various places in Canada. He played for local teams inPortage La Prairie, Manitoba ,Prince Edward Island andRed Deer, Alberta .Ranford spent his junior career with the
New Westminster Bruins , playing two seasons with the team before being drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 3rd round (52nd overall) in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft..Ranford's post-draft year, 1985–86, was an eventful one, as Ranford was named to the WHL Second All-Star Team, and saw his first NHL action after the WHL season ended, winning three of four games for Boston, before going 0–2 in the playoffs.
To start the next year, Boston assigned him to the
Moncton Golden Flames of the AHL, where he went 3–0 to start the season, and wound up spending the rest of the year with Boston. The replacement of Bruins coachButch Goring withTerry O'Reilly led to Ranford falling out of favour, and eventually being dealt on March 8, 1988 from theBoston Bruins withGeoff Courtnall to theEdmonton Oilers in exchange forAndy Moog .Following the trade, he spent most of the next season with the AHL's
Maine Mariners , but that would be the last time he would play at the minor-league level.NHL career
Ranford won his first
Stanley Cup in1988 , as the backup toGrant Fuhr . However, in1990 despite constant comparisons to the injured Fuhr, Ranford emerged as a first-rate goaltender, leading the Oilers to the Stanley Cup and winning theConn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in the process.Mark Messier himself often maintained that Bill's motivational plays were the source of much of the Oilers stylish and innovative play. It was the last cup that the Edmonton Oilers dynasty would win. Ranford went on to play the next six seasons in Edmonton, before being dealt back to theBoston Bruins on Januray 11, 1996 forMariusz Czerkawski ,Sean Brown , and a 1st Round Pick in the 1996 Entry Draft (Matthieu Descoteaux ).After less than two seasons with Boston, Ranford was dealt to the
Washington Capitals on March 1, 1997 withAdam Oates andRick Tocchet forJason Allison ,Anson Carter ,Jim Carey , a conditional draft pick in the 1998 Entry Draft, and a 3rd Round Pick in the 1997 Entry Draft (Lee Goren ). In 1998 theWashington Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, it was Ranfords third trip to the finals. On June 18, 1998, he was dealt to theTampa Bay Lightning for a 2nd Round Pick in the 1999 Entry Draft and a 3rd Round Pick in the 1998 Entry Draft (Todd Hornung ).He began the season with the
Tampa Bay Lightning , but was traded to theDetroit Red Wings on March 23rd, 1999 for a conditional draft pick. It was the second deal between theTampa Bay Lightning and theDetroit Red Wings that day. The prior trade broughtWendel Clark and a draft pick to theDetroit Red Wings and GoaltenderKevin Hodson and a draft pick to theTampa bay Lightning . TheWendel Clark trade made theBill Ranford deal happen.His final year in the NHL was
2000 , where Ranford returned to Edmonton as a free-agent backing upTommy Salo before announcing his retirement on April 24.Hockey analysts admire Ranfords ability, and tend to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to statistics, given the fact that he was only 34 years old when he retired.
Post-NHL career
Ranford acted in the movie "Miracle", performing the on-ice scenes as the goaltender for Team USA, Jim Craig, while
Eddie Cahill performed the off-ice scenes. Afterwards Ranford was officially credited as a reliable, no frills actor with a gritty, never give up style. Ranford also played net for the Edmonton Oilers alumni team at theHeritage Classic , the first outdoor regular season game in NHL history. Ranford (14 saves) and Grant Fuhr (11 saves) took turns in goal and held theMontreal Canadiens alumni team scoreless in a 2–0 victory.Bill served as the Goalie Coach for the WHL
Vancouver Giants for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons.On July 10, 2006 he was named the goaltending coach of the
Los Angeles Kings .He is also a part-owner of the
Burnaby Express of the British Columbia Hockey League (Tier II Junior).Career statistics
Regular season
Post season
Awards
*1986 - WHL 2nd All-Star Team
*1988, 1990 - Stanley Cup
*1990 - Conn Smythe Trophy MVP
*1991 - NHL All-Star Game
*1991 - Canada Cup (Team Canada)
*1991 - Canada Cup MVP
*1994 - Hockey World Champinionship (Team Canada, previously Canada won 1961)
*1994 - Hockey World Champinionship tournament MVP
*1996 - World Cup (Team Canada)Transactions
*
June 15 ,1985 - Ranford drafted by Boston
*March 8 ,1988 - Ranford traded from Boston to Edmonton, along withGeoff Courtnall in exchange forAndy Moog
*January 11 ,1996 - Ranford traded from Edmonton to Boston in exchange forSean Brown ,Mariusz Czerkawski and a 1st round draft pick (Matthieu Descoteaux )
*March 1 ,1997 - Ranford traded from Boston to Washington, along withAdam Oates andRick Tocchet in exchange forJason Allison ,Anson Carter , and Jim Carey
*June 18 ,1998 - Ranford traded from Washington to Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick (Todd Hornung)
*March 23 ,1999 - Ranford traded from Tampa Bay to Detroit in exchange for a conditional draft pick.
*August 4 ,1999 - Ranford signs with Edmonton.References
External links
* [http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/transformation_players_billranford.html Oilers Ranford Bio]
*hockeydb|4452
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179653/ Ranford at IMDB]
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