Reed Larson

Last updated
Reed Larson
Born (1956-07-30) July 30, 1956 (age 67)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
New York Islanders
Minnesota North Stars
Buffalo Sabres
HC Alleghe
HC Milano
National teamFlag of the United States.svg  United States
NHL Draft 22nd overall, 1976
Detroit Red Wings
WHA Draft 220th overall, 1974
Minnesota Fighting Saints
Playing career 1976–1990

Reed David Larson (born July 30, 1956) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and former captain of the Detroit Red Wings who played 904 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1976 and 1990. He featured in the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins.

Contents

He is an honoured member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy for his contributions to hockey in the United States.

Youth

Larson grew up in a working-class neighborhood in south Minneapolis, playing hockey at outdoor rinks and practicing his shooting in his garage. In the off-season, he water skied and did gymnastics, developing his arm strength and powerful slap shot. He played for Minneapolis Roosevelt High School and was their leading scorer in the 1973-1974 season when they went to the state tournament. [1]

College career

Larson spent three seasons under coach Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Gophers before being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with the 22nd pick of the 1976 NHL Entry Draft. He was named one of the 50 greatest players in University of Minnesota hockey history as part of the "Legends on Ice" tribute in 2001.

Professional and international career

Larson joined Detroit near the end of the 1976–77 season after Minnesota suspended him for assaulting an official during a WCHA game. He appeared in 14 NHL games that season and was also named to Team USA for the 1977 World Ice Hockey Championships but missed the tournament due to shoulder injury. His first full NHL season (1977–78) was highly successful scoring the most points (60) by a rookie defenseman. A tough, offensive defenseman, he was particularly well known for his hard slap shot. Larson became the first American defenseman to score 200 goals and he appeared in the 1978, 1980 and 1981 NHL All-Star Game as the Red Wings representative. He finally made his international debut for the United States national team at the 1981 World Ice Hockey Championships tournament and also represented the U.S. at the 1981 Canada Cup.

Larson spent ten NHL seasons in Detroit until the Red Wings traded him to the Boston Bruins for Mike O'Connell in 1986. He played another two seasons for the Bruins before ending his NHL career in 1989–90 with the Buffalo Sabres His professional career continued overseas in Italy where he was a player-coach for four seasons before returning to his home state for a final nine games for the International Hockey League Minnesota Moose in 1994–95. He also played six games in Roller Hockey International for the Minnesota Arctic Blast in 1994.

Post playing career

Reed Larson has mostly been working for the insurance business since his retirement. He has also been active in Oldtimers' charity hockey and has played in Heroes of Hockey games at several NHL All-Star weekends. He was elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1975 [2]
All-WCHA First Team 1975–76 [3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1973–74 Roosevelt High School HS-MN ——————————
1974–75 University of Minnesota WCHA 4111172837—————
1975–76 University of MinnesotaWCHA4213294294—————
1976–77 University of MinnesotaWCHA2110152530—————
1976–77 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1401123—————
1977–78 Detroit Red WingsNHL751941609570224
1978–79 Detroit Red WingsNHL79184967169—————
1979–80 Detroit Red WingsNHL80224466101—————
1980–81 Detroit Red WingsNHL78273158153—————
1981–82 Detroit Red WingsNHL80213960112—————
1982–83 Detroit Red WingsNHL80225274104—————
1983–84 Detroit Red WingsNHL78233962122420221
1984–85 Detroit Red WingsNHL77174562139312320
1985–86 Detroit Red WingsNHL67194160109—————
1985–86 Boston Bruins NHL13347831016
1986–87 Boston BruinsNHL661224369540222
1987–88 Maine Mariners AHL 22024—————
1987–88 Boston BruinsNHL621024349380116
1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL1027915—————
1988–89 New York Islanders NHL337132035—————
1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL110991830004
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL10000—————
1989–90 HC Alleghe ITA 34173249499718252
1990–91 HC AllegheITA3613385124737106
1991–92 HC Milano Saima ALP 52246—————
1991–92 HC Milano SaimaITA1751116612410148
1992–93 HC Courmaosta ITA-2 3230487883—————
1993–94 HC CourmaostaITA1962026181257127
1994–95 Minnesota Moose IHL 922411—————
NHL totals9042224636851,39132471163

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1981 United States WC 85166
1981 United States CC 51124
Senior totals1362810

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References

  1. ↑ "Reed Larson". Minnesota's 100 Greatest Hockey Players. Minneapolis StarTribune. 2011-10-30. Retrieved Jun 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ↑ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
Preceded by Detroit Red Wings captains
1980–82
with Errol Thompson, 1980–81 		Succeeded by
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