Richard Bachman (ice hockey)

Richard Bachman
Born	(1987-07-25) July 25, 1987 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey goaltender (retired), goaltending coach
Years active	2009–2020 (player)
Known for	Professional ice hockey goaltender in NHL; goaltending coach for Iowa Wild

Richard Harrison Bachman (born July 25, 1987) is a retired American professional ice hockey goaltender who currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL). Before embarking on his National Hockey League journey with the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks, he played two seasons at Colorado College. Bachman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Early career

Bachman took part in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament representing the Colorado Junior Avalanche from Littleton, Colorado.

While attending Cushing Academy, he achieved a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.28 and earned 3 shutouts across 28 games, concurrently playing for the Boston Jr. Bruins. In the United States Hockey League, after being traded from the Chicago Steel to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Bachman posted a .913 save percentage over 26 starts. The Dallas Stars selected him 120th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Colorado College

During his freshman season, Bachman distinguished himself by becoming only the second player in the history of the WCHA to receive both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards within a single season.

In the 2008–09 campaign, he recorded a .914 save percentage and a 2.63 GAA, performances that led to his signing with the Dallas Stars.

Dallas Stars

On March 27, 2009, Bachman signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Dallas Stars, concluding his collegiate career. After spending his initial professional season with Dallas’s AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, he was called up on December 8, 2011, during the 2010-11 NHL season to back up Andrew Raycroft following an injury to starter Kari Lehtonen. He made his NHL debut that same day. While with Dallas, Bachman became known for wearing goalie masks inspired by The Shining, a nod to "Richard Bachman," an alias used by author Stephen King.

Though initially assigned back to Texas for the start of the 2011-12 NHL season, he was recalled about a month later and assumed the role of primary backup to Lehtonen. On December 13, 2011, he earned his first NHL shutout in a 1–0 victory against the New York Rangers.

Edmonton Oilers

As a free agent, Bachman signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 6, 2013. He competed with Jason LaBarbera for backup duties behind starter Devan Dubnyk. On October 27, he made his first start for Edmonton, stopping 47 shots but ultimately losing in a shootout versus the Los Angeles Kings. During the course of the 2013-14 NHL season, an injury to his hamstring led to him being reassigned to Oklahoma City where he completed that season.

Vancouver Canucks

Bachman agreed to a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 1, 2015. Serving as the third goaltender, he appeared in just one game for Vancouver while spending most of his time with their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. The subsequent season saw him exclusively playing for Utica.

On July 13, 2016, Bachman extended his stay with Vancouver through a new contract lasting until 2018. Later, on June 20, 2018, he signed another two-year two-way deal keeping him within the Canucks organization until 2020.

While playing for Utica, Bachman suffered an Achilles tendon injury that prematurely ended his participation in the 2018–19 AHL season on December 21, 2018. During the following 2019–20 AHL season, limited both by injury and team depth chart positioning, he appeared in only three games before being loaned out by Vancouver to Swedish team IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League on February 12, 2020. He made three appearances there without securing a win before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coaching career

On October 2, 2020, Bachman concluded his professional playing career after 11 seasons and transitioned into a coaching role as the goaltending coach for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T/OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2004–05	Cushing Academy	HSMA		28	—	—	—	1498	53	3	1.89	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Cushing Academy	HSMA		30	—	—	—	1598	60	4	2.25	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Chicago Steel	USHL		7	2	5	0	359	29	0	4.85	.888		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL		26	14	10	2	1565	78	4	2.99	.913		6	4	1	329	7	2	1.28	.951
2007–08	Colorado College	WCHA		35	25	9	1	2103	65	4	1.85	.931
2008–09	Colorado College	WCHA		35	14	11	10	2073	91	3	2.63	.914
2009-10 ECHL season	Idaho Steelheads	ECHL		35	22	7	4	2028	77	4	2.28	.910		8	6	1	492	13	1	1.59	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2009-10 AHL season	Texas Stars	American Hockey League (AHL)	8	4	4	0	446	16	1	2.15	.932
2010-11 AHL season	Texas Stars	AHL		55	28	19	5	3191	117	6	2.20	.927		6	2	4	394	15	0	2.29	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"   |-  2010-11 NHL season  || Dallas Stars  || National Hockey League (NHL)  || 1  || 0  || 0  || 0  || 10  || 0  || 0  || 0.00  || 1.000   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |-   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
NHL totals !49 !20 !18 !2 !2422 !120 !2 !2.97 !.903 !— !— !— !— !— !— !— !—|} International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2012 United States WC ` 1` ` 1` ` 0` ` 0` ` 65` ` 2` ` 0` ` 1.86` ` .894` Senior totals 1 1 0 0 65 2 0 1.86 .894 Awards and honors Award Year College WCHA Rookie Team selection 2008 WCHA First Team honoree 2008 AHCA West First-Team All-American 2008 AHL Participated in All-Star Game 2015