Paul Ranheim

Paul Stephen Ranheim (born January 25, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes. He was a second round selection, 38th overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft and played 1,013 games between 1988 and 2003. Internationally, he played with Team USA; He played in three World Championships and was a member of the bronze medal-winning squad at the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Ranheim is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers ice hockey program where he played four seasons between 1984 and 1988 and graduated as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in his senior year and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. In his first professional season, 1988–89 with Calgary's International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, Ranheim's 68 goals was the fourth-highest total in all of professional hockey that season and earned him the Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy as the IHL's rookie of the year.

Playing career

College Ranheim was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but grew up in Minnesota. He played his high school hockey in Edina, where he captained his team to a state championship in 1983–84 and was named to Minnesota's All-State Team. The Calgary Flames selected him in the second round, 38th overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft, though Ranhiem opted to play college hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers prior to turning professional. Following a 22-point season in his freshman year of 1984–85, Ranheim won the Badgers' Otto Breitenbach Most Improved Player Award as the team's most improved player in 1985–86 after scoring 17 goals and recording 17 assists in 34 games.

A 57-point season in 1986–87 earned Ranheim honors as he was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Second All-Star Team and to the conference All-Academic Team. However he failed to make the team, and after contemplating turning professional with the Flames, elected to return to Wisconsin for his senior season in 1987–88. Ranheim shared the team's captaincy with Steve Tuttle, and his 36 goals led the team. ) as the top college player in the NCAA.

Professional Upon turning professional in 1988–89, Ranheim was assigned by the Flames to their International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. At four seconds apart, Gilmour and Ranheim tied the NHL record (since broken) for fastest two goals by one team, and set the record for fastest two shorthanded goals. Ranheim made his debut with Team USA following the NHL season at the 1990 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. He scored four goals in seven games for the fourth place Americans. He missed 42 games; in 39 games played, Ranehim recorded 30 points and was called for only two minor penalties. He made his second senior international appearance, at the 1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, where he had two goals and an assist in six games. Trying to defend against the opposition's top players, he lost confidence in his own offensive game. Ranheim had only 24 points in 66 games when the Flames, struggling to win games and wanting to improve their defence, made a trade. He was sent, along with Gary Suter and Ted Drury, to the Hartford Whalers on March 10, 1994, in exchange for Michael Nylander, Zarley Zalapski and James Patrick. Though he was expected to provide an offensive boost to the Whalers, Ranheim's lack of confidence continued to affect him, and he recorded only three assists in 15 games to end the season.

Following two additional seasons in Carolina, the Hurricanes dealt Ranheim to the Philadelphia Flyers on May 31, 2000, in exchange for an eighth-round selection at the 2002 NHL entry draft. He played two and a half seasons with the Flyers where he was regarded as "an ultimate team-oriented player". His best season in Philadelphia came in his first year, 2000–01, when he scored 10 goals and 17 points. He reached a career milestone late in the season as he played his 1,000th career game on March 6, 2003, against the St. Louis Blues. Ranheim announced his retirement as a player following the season. He originally settled in Arizona following his retirement. He left that industry when the economy faltered and embarked on several new ventures. He helped found a technology company called Keyware that creates internet monitoring software then tried marketing a brand of hockey jerseys. He ultimately moved to his hometown of Edina, Minnesota, where Ranheim took up coaching at a local high school and took up a career remodeling community rinks with the goal of starting a home remodeling company. WCHA Second team all-star 1986–87 WCHA All-Academic Team 1986–87 WCHA First All-Star Team 1987–88

International Hockey League Award Year Ref. Gary F. Longman Memorial TrophyRookie of the year 1988–89 Ken McKenzie TrophyAmerican-born rookie of the year 1988–89 Second-team all-star 1988–89