5 times Stanley Cup winner – Rick Chartraw – to come to Melbourne to run an on-ice coaching session with a pre-ice lecture session for the Melbourne Ice Wolves.
Rich Chartraw’s History:
Rick grew up in the US and then moved to Canada to play junior hockey in the Ontario league with the Kitchener Rangers, like Jason Baclig and Matt Armstrong (Melbourne Ice Men’s Team) did some years later.
5 times Stanley Cup Champion - Rick Chartraw
His NHL career started in 1974 with the Montreal Canadiens as their first round draft pick (10th overall, first American citizen ever selected in first round) where he played for 7 years as a defenceman primarily but also being called upon as a forward. With the Habs Rick dressed with one of the greatest teams of all time and won the Stanley Cup 4 times consecutively from 1976 to 1979, playing with hall of famers like Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard and Larry Robinson, despite such a star studded cast Rick put in his best performances here in the late 70s playing 60+ games per year with 5 goals 16 points in ’78-’79.
He was then traded to the Kings in 1980 where he played with Marcel Dionne, Rangers in 1982 and finally the Oilers in 1983 where he won the cup once more in 1984 in his final NHL season along with Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey. He played 5 games for Team USA in the first Canada Cup (1976), the first best-of-the-best tournament in hockey history.
He’s also been a talented golfer since a teenager and is looking for some recommendations on a course on this his first trip to Melbourne. His past students and I myself attest to him being a generous and down-to-earth person who is a good match to the character of our club. He’s now 57
On behalf of the Melbourne Ice Wolves I would like to say a special thank you to;
Rick Chartraw: for providing his time to coach the Melbourne Ice Wolves.
Medibank Icehouse: Georgina Hood and Matt Kennedy for allowing ice hire of the Henke Rink in a peak school holiday time slot.
Peter Savvides: who reached out and provided the original link to Rick.
Melbourne Ice Wolves Executive: Providing behind the scenes organisation to make this happen.
If you want to witness one of the true legends helping the sport of ice hockey please feel free to come down to the Medibank Icehouse on Sunday 15th, January. Puck drops at 6:30PM.
Please note the session is for Melbourne Ice Wolves players only, spectators are most welcome.
Emma Poynton
President
Melbourne Ice Wolves
ooooooo, I’ll be there, I’d love to see the boys and the new coach. I am having withdrawals not seeing hockey