- Mike Richter
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Mike Richter Born September 22, 1966
Abington, PA, USAHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) Position Goaltender Caught Left Played for New York Rangers National team 
United StatesNHL Draft 28th overall, 1985
New York RangersPlaying career 1989–2003 Michael Thomas Richter (born September 22, 1966) is a former ice hockey goaltender. One of the most successful American-born goaltenders in history, he is best known for having led the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup title in 1994 and for repeatedly representing the United States in international play. Due to his success, Richter was a part of the Class of 2008 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, alongside his former Rangers and U.S. teammate Brian Leetch.
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Playing career
Richter grew up in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and idolized Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent. He attended and played for Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and then Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, graduating in 1985. He also played at the Wissahickon Skating Club. After playing for the United States in the World Junior championships in 1985, Richter played for the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1985–1987, and the Rangers made him the 28th overall pick in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He again represented the U.S. in the World Junior championships, as well as the World Championships and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, before making his NHL debut in the 1989 playoffs. Though he lost the one game in which he played, he was soon a regular member of the Rangers, posting 12 wins against 5 losses in his rookie season as the club's backup goaltender. Over the next two seasons, Richter split goaltending duties with the Rangers' veteran starter, John Vanbiesbrouck, and was selected to play for the U.S. in the 1991 Canada Cup tournament.
The Rangers traded Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks before the 1993–94 season, and Richter had his first campaign as the team's number-one goaltender. He posted a career-best 42 wins and 2.57 goals-against average as the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season team for the second time in three years. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game, which the Rangers hosted at Madison Square Garden that year. In the playoffs, he ramped up his play, becoming the eighth goaltender to post four shutouts in one playoff season. The Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals against the Canucks, and Richter earned a career highlight in Game 4, stopping Vancouver sniper Pavel Bure on a penalty shot. The Rangers defeated the Canucks in seven games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940.
Over the next few years, Richter would be consistently ranked among the world's top goaltenders. He led the United States to victory in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, with his efforts earning him tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Injuries plagued much of his career with everything from MCL sprains, ACL sprains and concussions. At some points they occurred together, but he worked hard to rehabilitate his injuries to always make the return to the ice.
Richter's style of play was very acrobatic and quick. For a small goalie he made himself look big by using his lightning quick reflexes to make saves. He was rarely out of position and always square to his shooters. He was known for making plenty of desperation and sometimes unbelievable saves using his focus, flexibility, and athleticism. Long time teammate and Hall of Fame Ranger defenseman Brian Leetch once said this about Richter:
" I have never seen anyone more focused than he was. As the game got tougher, he got better. If a goal was ever scored on him I was always surprised."
His last appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs would be 1997, as a series of knee injuries and a string of mediocre Ranger teams saw his personal statistics suffer. Nevertheless, he was selected as the top goalie for Team USA in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, winning a silver medal in the 2002 Games. A year later a skull fracture and concussion forced him to retire, but not until after he became the first Ranger to record 300 wins. He finished his career as the Rangers all-time leader in wins.
Post-retirement
Richter's jersey (#35) became the third number retired by the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 4, 2004. Though he played his entire career for the Rangers, he twice changed teams between seasons due to a quirk in the NHL rules of free agency, returning to the Rangers each time. Upon his retirement and having played his entire career in New York, the Rangers posted the quote of "Once a Ranger Always a Ranger" from everything to posters, websites, bill boards and arenas. The phrase is still seen all over the place in and near Madison Square Garden.
Richter returned to college in 2004 and graduated in 2008 with a BA from Yale University, entering the university through the highly competitive Eli Whitney Students Program, Yale College's admissions program for non-traditional students.[1] He majored in Ethics, Politics & Economics (EP&E). Richter volunteered as a coach for the Yale men's hockey team alongside head coach Keith Allain; Allain was an assistant coach for Team USA in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.[2]
In 2007 the Rothenberg Political Report reported that Richter, who lives in Guilford, Connecticut, was considering running for U.S. Congress under Connecticut's 4th congressional district in 2008 as a Democrat. However, on March 23, 2007, he stated that he would not run,[3] despite still expressing interest in seeking public office one day.
Richter competed in the Ironman Triathlon at Lake Placid on July 22, 2007. The triathlon involves a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, 112-mile (180 km) bike ride, and a 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) run. He completed the grueling race in 12 hours 49 minutes 10 seconds.
On November 4, 2007 Richter ran in his first New York City Marathon finishing with a time of 3:54:35.[4]
Career statistics
Regular season
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1986–87 UW–Madison WCHA 36 19 16 1 2136 126 0 3.53 .901 1987–88 Colorado Rangers IHL 22 16 5 0 1298 68 0 3.14 — 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 57 23 26 3 3031 217 1 4.30 — 1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 23 12 5 5 1320 66 0 3.00 .904 1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 13 7 4 2 782 49 0 3.76 — 1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 45 21 13 7 2596 135 0 3.12 .903 1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 41 23 12 2 2298 119 3 3.11 .901 1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 38 13 19 3 2105 134 1 3.82 .886 1992–93 Binghamton Rangers AHL 5 4 0 1 305 6 0 1.18 .964 1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 68 42 12 6 3710 159 5 2.57 .910 1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 35 14 17 2 1993 97 2 2.92 .890 1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 41 24 13 3 2396 107 3 2.68 .912 1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 61 33 22 6 3598 161 4 2.68 .917 1997–98 New York Rangers NHL 72 21 31 15 4143 184 0 2.66 .903 1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 68 27 30 8 3878 170 4 2.63 .910 1999–00 New York Rangers NHL 61 22 31 8 3622 173 0 2.87 .905 2000–01 New York Rangers NHL 45 20 21 3 2635 144 0 3.28 .893 2001–02 New York Rangers NHL 55 24 26 4 3195 157 2 2.95 .906 2002–03 New York Rangers NHL 13 5 6 1 694 34 0 2.94 .897 NHL totals 666 301 258 73 38,183 1840 24 2.89 .904 Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1987–88 Colorado Rangers IHL 10 5 3 536 35 0 3.92 — 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 4 0 4 210 21 0 6.00 — 1988–89 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 1 58 4 0 4.14 .867 1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 6 3 2 330 19 0 3.45 .896 1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 6 2 4 313 14 1 2.68 .923 1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 7 4 2 412 24 1 3.50 .894 1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 23 16 7 1417 49 4 2.07 .921 1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 7 2 5 384 23 0 3.59 .878 1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 11 5 6 662 36 0 3.26 .883 1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 15 9 6 939 33 3 2.11 .932 NHL totals 76 41 33 4,515 202 9 2.68 .909 Career highlights
Medal record Men's ice hockey Competitor for United StatesOlympic Games Silver 2002 Salt Lake City Ice hockey World Cup Gold 1996 World Cup of Hockey Ice hockey - Named to 1992 NHL All-Star team
- Named to 1994 NHL All-Star team - Awarded Most Valuable Player
- Won 1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers
- Won gold medal at 1996 World Cup of Hockey - Awarded Most Valuable Player
- Named to 2000 NHL All-Star team
- Won silver medal at 2002 Winter Olympics
- Enshrined into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
- Received the 2009 Lester Patrick Award alongside Mark Messier and Jim Devellano.
- Ranked No. 3 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Records
- NHL Record, Wins, Single Postseason: T-1st: 16 (1993–94)
- NYR Club Record, Games Played, Career: 666
- NYR Club Record, Wins, Career: 301
- NYR Club Record, Games Played, Single Season: 72 (1997–98)
- NYR Club Record, Wins, Single Season: 42 (1993–94)
NY Rangers team awards
- Crumb Bum Award - "For service to New York youngsters" (1997)
- Frank Boucher Trophy - "Most popular player on and off the ice" (1991, 1999, 2000, 2002)
- Good Guy Award - "For cooperation with the media" (1991)
- Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award - "Best rookie of training camp" (1991)
- Player's Player Award (1991, 2000)
- Team Rookie of the Year (1991)
- Team MVP (2000, 2002)
References
- ^ Yale Herald, Special programs welcome grown-up students to Yale
- ^ Ivy League Sports, Richter joins Yale staff
- ^ Political Wire, In CT-4, Democrats Eye Richter
- ^ PR Newswire, Mike Richter Sets Goal with ING to Complete the ING New York City Marathon
External links
Categories:- 1966 births
- American ice hockey goaltenders
- Binghamton Rangers players
- Colorado Rangers players
- Denver Rangers players
- Ice hockey people from Pennsylvania
- Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Lester Patrick Trophy recipients
- Living people
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- National Hockey League players with retired numbers
- New York Rangers draft picks
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic ice hockey players of the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
- Stanley Cup champions
- United States Hockey Hall of Fame
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players
- Yale University alumni
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
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