Kelly Hrudey

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Goaltender
played_for = New York Islanders
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Catches = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 190
nickname = Hollywood
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1961|1|13|mf=y
birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
draft = 38th overall
draft_year = 1980
draft_team = New York Islanders
career_start = 1983
career_end = 1998

Kelly Hrudey (born January 13, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) 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)

He 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.

Hrudey 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 didn't 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.

During the latter years of his career, he often joined "Hockey Night in Canada" to supplement their playoff coverage, in the event his team missed the playoffs. After retiring, he joined their broadcast team full time as an analyst. He is featured in the "Behind the Mask" segment with host Scott Oake during the first intermission of the second game of Saturday night double-headers. He also participates in the "After Hours" show which airs after the end of the second game. A recurring segment of the show is "How I Padded My Stats Against Kelly Hrudey," in which the player guest is shown highlights (if applicable) of goals they scored on Hrudey.

Kelly Hrudey also makes a weekly appearance on the TEAM 1040 in Vancouver with Rick Ball [http://www.team1040.ca/shows/canucks_lunch/] .

Nicknamed 'Hollywood' while playing in LA, Hrudey was also known for wearing a blue bandana underneath his mask throughout his career.

Kelly Hrudey lives with his wife and family in Calgary, Alberta.

External links

* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=2390 stats from hockeydb.com]
* [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/hrudey.html Bio from hockeygoalies.org]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/personality/index.jsp?personality=Hrudey%2C+Kelly&program=Hockey+Night+in+Canada Hrudey's commentator profile on CBC.ca]