Reed Larson

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.

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.

College career Larson spent three seasons under coach Herb Brooks with the 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 a 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 Larson has mostly been working in 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 Award Year All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1975 All-WCHA First Team 1975–76

Member of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Played in NHL All-Star Game (1978, 1980, 1981)

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1973–74 Roosevelt High School HS-MN — — — — — — — — — — 1974–75 University of Minnesota WCHA 41 11 17 28 37 — — — — — 1975–76 University of Minnesota WCHA 42 13 29 42 94 — — — — — 1976–77 University of Minnesota WCHA 21 10 15 25 30 — — — — — 1976–77 Detroit Red Wings NHL 14 0 1 1 23 — — — — — 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 19 41 60 95 7 0 2 2 4 1978–79 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 18 49 67 169 — — — — — 1979–80 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 22 44 66 101 — — — — — 1980–81 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 27 31 58 153 — — — — — 1981–82 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 21 39 60 112 — — — — — 1982–83 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 22 52 74 104 — — — — — 1983–84 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 23 39 62 122 4 2 0 2 21 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 17 45 62 139 3 1 2 3 20 1985–86 Detroit Red Wings NHL 67 19 41 60 109 — — — — — 1985–86 Boston Bruins NHL 13 3 4 7 8 3 1 0 1 6 1986–87 Boston Bruins NHL 66 12 24 36 95 4 0 2 2 2 1987–88 Maine Mariners AHL 2 2 0 2 4 — — — — — 1987–88 Boston Bruins NHL 62 10 24 34 93 8 0 1 1 6 1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 10 2 7 9 15 — — — — — 1988–89 New York Islanders NHL 33 7 13 20 35 — — — — — 1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 11 0 9 9 18 3 0 0 0 4 1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1989–90 HC Alleghe ITA 34 17 32 49 49 9 7 18 25 2 1990–91 HC Alleghe ITA 36 13 38 51 24 7 3 7 10 6 1991–92 HC Milano Saima ALP 5 2 2 4 6 — — — — — 1991–92 HC Milano Saima ITA 17 5 11 16 6 12 4 10 14 8 1992–93 HC Courmaosta ITA-2 32 30 48 78 83 — — — — — 1993–94 HC Courmaosta ITA 19 6 20 26 18 12 5 7 12 7 1994–95 Minnesota Moose IHL 9 2 2 4 11 — — — — — NHL totals 904 222 463 685 1,391 32 4 7 11 63

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1981 United States WC 8 5 1 6 6 1981 United States CC 5 1 1 2 4 Senior totals 13 6 2 8 10