NAME: Mike Ridley
UNIVERSITY: Manitoba
CATEGORY: Student-athlete
SPORT: Men’s Hockey
YEARS ACTIVE: 1983-1985
HIGHLIGHTS:
1984 CIAU Player of the Year
Two-time All Canadian (1984, 1985)
Played in 1989 NHL All-Star Game
Named to 1985-86 NHL All-Rookie Team
BIOGRAPHY:
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.
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 GPAC title and was voted the conference MVP and Rookie of the Year.
The following season 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.
Midway through 1986-87, Ridley was traded to Washington, where he would spend the next seven and a half seasons and have the greatest stretch of his professional career, including an appearance in the 1989 NHL All-Star Game.
Over parts of eight seasons with the Capitals, he played 588 games, scoring 218 goals and picking up 547 points. The Winnipeg native was dealt to Toronto following the 1993-94 campaign. At the time of the transaction, he was Washington’s No. 2 career goal scorer, and ranked third all-time for the franchise in assists and points.
Ridley would play one year with the Leafs, before being acquired by Vancouver, where he spent his final two NHL seasons. He retired with totals of 292 goals and 466 assists for 758 points overall in 866 NHL games. He added 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 104 post-season contests.
In January 2004, Ridley became the first Bison hockey player to have his jersey retired when his No. 7 was raised to the rafters. That same season, the Mike Ridley Awards were established as an endowment fund for the University of Manitoba.
Ridley is a member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.