Ralph Klassen
Ralph Klassen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 September 1955 Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | 3 August 2020 (aged 64) |
| Occupation | Ice hockey player |
| Years active | 1975–1983 |
| Known for | Professional ice hockey career in the NHL with California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Blues |
Ralph Leo Klassen (September 15, 1955 – August 3, 2020) was a Canadian ice hockey professional who played in 497 National Hockey League (NHL) contests. Throughout his decade-long career, he represented the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Blues.
Junior hockey career
Hailing from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Klassen began his major junior hockey journey at age 15 in the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). He dedicated five seasons to the Saskatoon Blades, playing both center and left wing positions, reaching a career-high of 77 points (23 goals) during the 1973–74 season. Serving as team captain in 1974–75, he also secured a silver medal with Team Canada at the 1975 World Junior Championships. Klassen appeared in 300 games for the Blades, ranking second only to Fred Williams in franchise appearances.
Professional career
Considered among the premier North American prospects in 1975, Klassen was selected third overall by the California Golden Seals in the NHL Amateur Draft and fifth overall by the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Choosing to pursue a traditional NHL route, he inked a contract with California worth $70,000 annually.
Klassen's professional debut came in the 1975–76 season with a brief stint in the Central Hockey League playing for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles before making his NHL debut at age 19. He scored during his first game and concluded his rookie year with six goals and fifteen assists across 71 games.
After the franchise relocated to Cleveland as the Barons in 1976, Klassen improved his performance by netting 14 goals over 80 games in the 1976–77 season. Partway through the following campaign, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies where he maintained regular playtime but also spent periods with their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Firebirds.
During the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft, Klassen was claimed by the Hartford Whalers but was traded twice immediately thereafter—ultimately joining the St. Louis Blues through a three-team trade.
Between 1979 and 1983, Klassen participated in 225 games for St. Louis alongside prominent teammates such as Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter. The Blues consistently qualified for playoffs during this period but never progressed beyond the second round. His peak season with St. Louis was in 1979–80 when he amassed 25 points.
Klassen ended his professional hockey career in November 1983 at age 28, finishing with a total of 52 NHL goals.
Post hockey
Following his NHL retirement, Klassen resided in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, working as a mail carrier for Canada Post. Later in life, he relocated to Kinley, Saskatchewan and took on coaching responsibilities for the "Perdue Pirates," a Senior Hockey team competing in the Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League. He remained engaged in local community activities.
Klassen died on August 3, 2020, due to cancer.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||||||||||||
| 1970–71 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 61 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1971–72 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 62 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 64 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| 1972–73 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 68 | 19 | 47 | 66 | 80 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| 1973–74 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 68 | 23 | 54 | 77 | 110 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| 1974–75 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 41 | 21 | 47 | 68 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| 1975–76 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 71 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1975–76 CHL season" | "Salt Lake Golden Eagles" | "Central Professional Hockey League" | "4" | "3" | "3" | "6" | "4" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1976–77 NHL season" | "Cleveland Barons (NHL)" | "NHL" | "80" | "14" | "18" | "32" | "23" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1977–78 NHL season" | "Cleveland Barons" | "NHL" | "13" | "2" | "1" | "3" | "6" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1977–78" | "Colorado Rockies (NHL)" | "NHL" | "44" | "6" | "9" | "15" | "8" | "2" | "0" | "0" | "0" | "0" | |||||||||||||||
| "1978–79 NHL season" | "Colorado Rockies" | "NHL" | "64" | "6" | "13" | "19" | "12" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1978–79 AHL season" | "Philadelphia Firebirds" | "American Hockey League" | "18" | "3" | "9" | "12" | "2" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "1979–80 NHL season" | "St. Louis Blues" | "NHL" | "80" | "9" | "16" | "25" | "10" | "3" | "0" | "0" | "0 " | "0 " | |||||||||||||||
| \[[1980–81 NHL season\]\] | \[[St. Louis Blues\]\] | \[[NHL\]\] | \66\] | \6\] | \12\] | \18\] | \23\] | \11\] | \2\] | \0\] | \2\] | \2\] | |||||||||||||||
| \[[1981–82 NHL season\]\] | \[[St. Louis Blues\]\] | \[[NHL\]\] | \45\] | \3\] | \7\] | \10\] | \6\] | \10\] | \2\] | \2\] | \4\] | \10\] | |||||||||||||||
| \[[1982–83 NHL season\]\] | \[[St. Louis Blues\]\] | \[[NHL\]\] | \29\] | \0\] | \2\] | \2\] | \6\] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| \[[1982–83 CHL season\]\] | \[[Salt Lake Golden Eagles\]\] | \[[CHL\]\] | \21 \] | \9 \] | \10 \] | \19 \] | \8 \] | \6 \] | \2 \] | \6 \] | \8 \] | \5 \] | |||||||||||||||
| \[[1983–84 NHL season\]\] | \[[St. Louis Blues\]\] | \[[NHL\]\] | \5 \] | \0 \] | \0 \] | \0 \] | \0 \] | ||||||||||||||||||||
NHL totals !497 !52 !93 !145 !120 !26 !4 !2 !6 !12 |}
International
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