Mike Ramsey (ice hockey)

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.

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 2017, he is playing 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