NHL All-Star Ridley dominated during university career
Manitoba Bisons star enters Canada West Hall of Fame
EDMONTON – Years before he was an All-Star in the National Hockey League, Mike Ridley was an All-Canadian on the University of Manitoba men’s hockey team.
Ridley played forward with the Bisons for two seasons, 1983-84 and 1984-85, amassing an amazing 68 goals and totalled 79 assists in 76 games, before going on to a 12-year NHL career with stops in New York, Washington, Toronto and Vancouver.
Tuesday he earned the conference's highest honour, joining his coach Wayne Fleming in the Canada West Hall of Fame.
In his first year as a student-athlete, Ridley received the CIAU Player of the Year award and was named an All-Canadian. The top scorer in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, he led Manitoba to the Great Plains Athletic Conference title and was voted the conference MVP and Rookie of the Year.
The following season, 1984-85, Ridley was again a CIAU All-Canadian and the GPAC’s Most Valuable Player, while leading the Bisons to a second straight conference crown.
Ridley signed with the New York Rangers prior to the 1985-86 NHL season, and went on to lead the team in assists (43) and points (65) en route to being selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
He would play a total of 866 NHL games, amassing 758 points between the Rangers, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.
To read more about Ridley's career, click here.
ABOUT THE CANADA WEST HALL OF FAME
For the last century, organized university sport has been a central part of the student experience at institutions across Western Canada. Beginning with the University of Manitoba capturing the first Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU) men's hockey banner in 1919-20, student-athletes have been competing to reach their full potential in sport and the classroom, while enriching campus life.
To commemorate 100 years of university sport across Western Canada, the Canada West Hall of Fame was created in the spring of 2019, with the first induction class set to be unveiled throughout the 2019-20 season.
VISIT: CanadaWestHallofFame.org