Who Wore It: Sabres History – #5

Chad Ruhwedel currently rocks the #5 for the Buffalo Sabres, but there have been many players before him to grace that jersey number in the team’s history. Today, we’ll take a look at one of them: Mike Ramsey.

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MIKE RAMSEY
Defense, b. 1960
Drafted by the Sabres, 1979 (11th overall)

Before he ever had a full season in the NHL, Mike Ramsey had earned something that many players never see in their lifetimes: an Olympic gold medal. At the age of just 18, Ramsey was the youngest player on the US men’s hockey Olympic team for the famed ‘Miracle on Ice’ squad in 1980.

He had been drafted by the Sabres prior to that, in 1979, and spent most of the 1979-80 season with the Olympic squad.

After winning Olympic gold, Ramsey spent 13 seasons with the Sabres from 1979 until 1993. He played 911 regular season games with the Sabres, scoring 329 points (73-256) in that time. He also appeared in 72 playoff games with the Sabres, notching 26 points and 158 penalty minutes.

Statistically, the best season of his Sabres career came in the 1982-83 season. He notched 38 points (8-30) in 77 games, good for a .49 points/game stat.

On March 22, 1993, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Bob Errey. Ramsey spent two years with the Penguins before spending parts of three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

After he hung up his skates, Ramsey became an assistant coach in the NHL. He started off with the Sabres from 1997 until 2000 before acting as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild from 2001 until 2010.

Ramsey was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame on February 15, 2001. The Minneapolis native was also inducted in the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 along witth Dave Christian and Paul Johnson.

Other Sabres players to wear #5: Chad Ruhwedel, Toni Lydman, Jeff Jillson, Andy Delmore, Jason Woolley, Ed Ronan, Craig Muni, John Van Boxmeer, Lee Fogolin, Larry Carriere, Larry Hillman, Doug Barrie.