Bill Ranford looks back on his WHL career with the New Westminster Bruins.
Bill Ranford's career was special. A four-time Stanley Cup Champion as a player and coach, the pride of Brandon, Manitoba, was also the MVP of the 1991 Canada Cup en route to capturing Gold for his country. Before that, however, he was backstopping a star-studded New Westminster Bruins team in their second reiteration.
Ranford's WHL journey began before the 1983-84 season. At 16, he moved out to the West Coast, hoping to crack the New Westminster lineup. While at the time, he was fully expecting to not make the team and head back to Red Deer, as he explains, Bruins head coach Al Patterson had different plans.
"I was young as a young 16-year-old when I when I left Red Deer," said Ranford. "It was a little bit of a surprise at the time that I made the team. I was kind of just expecting to come out to to New Westminster and just go through training camp and head back to Red Deer and finish my high school there, but Al Patterson at the time convinced me to stick around, and you know, it was kind of history after that."
As mentioned, the New Westminster Bruins that Ranford played for were not the originals. After the 1980-81 season, the team relocated to Kamloops, eventually becoming what we know today as the Kamloops Blazers. After a brief hiatus from the league, the once proud franchise was reborn in 1983 when they moved from Nanaimo back to the Royal City. Playing for such a historic logo was not lost on him and his teammates, who did everything they could to make the city proud.
"I think what was special about that group was the fact that we were the first team after they were gone for a number of years. The likes of Cliff Ronning, Todd Ewan and Craig Berube, guys like that that I was fortunate enough to play with. Brent Hughes was a local guy from New West. So, it's just putting the city back on the map after such historical runs previous to our group."
It is safe to say those early years left an impression on Ranford as, to this day, he still resides in the Royal City. While the city has expanded and changed since the mid-80s, it still features some blasts from the past, including the Queen's Park Arena, which the Bruins called home. A city he would love to see get another WHL team one day; it is a place that has played a major role throughout his life.
"The city is special to me and my wife there. The fans were crazy. And you know, back in the day when there were best of nines, and we're filling Queen's Park Arena. It's just iconic. It's a great place to play."
In total, Ranford played three seasons in New West, playing in 118 regular season games before being drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1985. After a successful 15-year career that included winning over 200 NHL games and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1990, he would return to the WHL, this time as a goaltender coach. With stops in Seattle and Vancouver, he spent three years back in the 'Dub helping coach goaltenders like Tyson Sexsmith and Marek Schwarz, who both would go on to play games at the pro level.
"I was fortunate enough to start off in Seattle. Dean Smith asked me to come out there for one year. then, when the job became available with the Giants, Don Hay gave me a call to see if I was interested. I interviewed with him, and I was fortunate enough to spend a couple of years with the Giants. It's a great organization. You know, Mr. Toigo and the Bonner's, it's just a great group."
Today, Ranford can be found down in LA, where he has been the Kings goaltender coach since the 2006-07 season. During that time, he has helped the team capture two Stanley Cups and worked with such goaltenders as Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier, Martin Jones and Jack Campbell. One of the best to ever play in New Westminster, he is still a beloved player in the city 35 years later.