Kelly Hrudey : biography
Kelly Hrudey (born January 13, 1961) is a former NHL ice hockey goaltender and current hockey broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During his NHL career, Hrudey played for the New York Islanders (1983–1989), Los Angeles Kings (1989–1996), and San Jose Sharks (1996–1998).
Biography
Playing career
Hrudey played junior hockey for three years with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers. He was drafted in the second round (38th overall) of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Hrudey first played for the Indianapolis Checkers, New York’s minor league affiliate, and moved to the main club in the 1984–85 season.
He was the Islanders’ goaltender in 1987 when they defeated the Washington Capitals in the longest game in club history, a four-overtime Game 7 thriller known as the "Easter Epic", which was won on a goal by Pat LaFontaine after 68:47 of overtime. Hrudey made 73 saves (a playoff record) in a 3–2 Islander victory that ended just before 2am on Easter morning.
Later in 1987, he was the third string goaltender on Team Canada during the 1987 Canada Cup, but did not appear in a game.
In 1989, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and would play there for eight seasons. His most notable achievement was playing in the 1993 Stanley Cup finals, but the team lost to Patrick Roy’s Montreal Canadiens. In 1996, he signed with the San Jose Sharks and played his last two seasons there before retiring in 1998.
Nicknamed ‘Hollywood’ while playing in LA, Hrudey was also known for wearing a blue bandana underneath his mask throughout his career.
Broadcasting career
During the latter years of his playing career, in the event his team missed the post-season, he often joined Hockey Night in Canada as a studio analyst to supplement their playoff coverage. After retiring, he joined the broadcast team full-time as an analyst. He was featured in the "Behind the Mask" segment with hosts Scott Russell and later Scott Oake during the first intermission of the second game of Saturday night doubleheaders. He also participated in the "After Hours" show which followed the conclusion of the second game. A recurring segment of the show was "How I Padded My Stats Against Kelly Hrudey," in which the player guest is shown highlights (if applicable) of goals they scored on Hrudey. In 2007, Hrudey helped debut Hockey Night in Canada Radio. The show originating from Toronto with host Jeff Marek is a three hour program dedicated to hockey. The show is broadcast on Sirius XM Channel 122 and 97. Hrudey co-hosts Monday and Wednesday from his home studio in Calgary. For the 2008–09 season, he began working alongside Ron MacLean and Mike Milbury on HNIC’s primary studio team.
Hrudey also makes a weekly appearance on the TEAM 1040 in Vancouver with Rick Ball.
Personal life
Hrudey lives with his wife Donna and their three daughters in Calgary, Alberta. Hrudey was honored by the Los Angeles Kings in a pre-game ceremony prior to the team’s game against the Calgary Flames on March 9, 2013.
Career statistics
Regular season
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978–79 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 57 | 12 | 34 | 7 | 3093 | 318 | 0 | 6.17 | — |
1979–80 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 57 | 25 | 23 | 4 | 3049 | 212 | 1 | 4.17 | .899 |
1980–81 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 55 | 32 | 19 | 1 | 3023 | 200 | 4 | 3.97 | .895 |
1981–82 | Indianapolis Checkers | CHL | 51 | 27 | 19 | 4 | 3033 | 149 | 1 | 2.95 | .900 |
1982–83 | Indianapolis Checkers | CHL | 47 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 2744 | 139 | 2 | 3.04 | .894 |
1983–84 | Indianapolis Checkers | CHL | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 370 | 21 | 0 | 3.40 | — |
1983–84 | New York Islanders | NHL | 12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 535 | 28 | 0 | 3.14 | .903 |
1984–85 | New York Islanders | NHL | 41 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 2335 | 141 | 2 | 3.62 | .886 |
1985–86 | New York Islanders | NHL | 45 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 2563 | 137 | 1 | 3.21 | .906 |
1986–87 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 21 | 15 | 7 | 2634 | 145 | 0 | 3.30 | .881 |
1987–88 | New York Islanders | NHL | 47 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 2751 | 153 | 3 | 3.34 | .896 |
1988–89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 50 | 18 | 24 | 3 | 2800 | 183 | 0 | 3.92 | .874 |
1988–89 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 974 | 47 | 1 | 2.90 | .904 |
1989–90 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 52 | 22 | 21 | 6 | 2860 | 194 | 2 | 4.07 | .873 |
1990–91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 47 | 26 | 13 | 6 | 2730 | 132 | 3 | 2.90 | .900 |
1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 60 | 27 | 17 | 13 | 3509 | 197 | 1 | 3.37 | .897 |
1992–93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 50 | 18 | 21 | 6 | 2718 | 175 | 2 | 3.86 | .897 |
1993–94 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 64 | 22 | 31 | 7 | 3713 | 228 | 1 | 3.68 | .897 |
1994–95 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 25 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 1894 | 99 | 0 | 3.14 | .910 |
1995–96 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 5.95 | .828 |
1995–96 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 36 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 2077 | 113 | 0 | 3.26 | .907 |
1996–97 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 48 | 16 | 24 | 5 | 2631 | 140 | 0 | 3.19 | .889 |
1997–98 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 28 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1360 | 62 | 1 | 2.74 | .897 |
NHL totals | 677 | 271 | 265 | 88 | 38,081 | 2174 | 17 | 3.42 | .893 |