Ralph Klassen
| Ralph Klassen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
September 15, 1955 Humboldt, SK, CAN |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
California Golden Seals Cleveland Barons Colorado Rockies St. Louis Blues |
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| NHL Draft | 3rd overall, 1975 California Golden Seals |
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| WHA Draft | 5th overall, 1975 Cleveland Crusaders |
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| Playing career | 1975–1984 | ||
Ralph L. Klassen (born September 15, 1955 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 497 games in the National Hockey League.
Klassen forged his early hockey career in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, where, as a very talented young player with exceptional skating ability, he entered the major junior hockey ranks in the Western Canadian Hockey League at the age of 15. In major junior hockey in Canada, the majority of players are in the much older, bigger, 18–20-year-old age group. Consequently, it is rare for a 15-year-old player to play at that level of hockey. Major junior hockey in Canada, unlike the United States or Europe, is an entry point for players to potentially play professionally, as 19- and 20-year-old players become eligible to be drafted by professional teams, primarily in the National Hockey League. Many junior players make the jump to the NHL or its minor league affiliates readily after their junior careers are over.
Current Canadian Hockey Association rules prohibit players at age 15 from playing in the major junior hockey leagues, unless they are deemed "exceptional"; very few, if any, at 15 years of age, currently play in the CHL's major junior ranks. A current NHL player, John Tavares, the captain of the New York Islanders is just such a player, being drafted as a 14 year old by the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals. Even in the 1970s, it was unusual for 15-year-old players to play at such a high level, but Klassen's hard skating, size and stick-handling skills were the pivotal factors to break into, and play consistently in, an established league such as the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL), with much older, experienced players.
Klassen played his entire major junior career with the Saskatoon Blades of the WCHL, where, as a forward rotating between the center and left-wing positions, he skated for five seasons. He posted his highest scoring production as a junior with the Blades at 77 total points including 23 goals, in 1973–74. He captained the Blades in 1974–75, and played for the National Canadian team at the World Junior Hockey Championships, where Canada won a silver medal in 1975. Klassen played 300 games for the Blades, second only to Fred Williams, who holds the distinction of playing the most games for the team in its history, at 319 games.
A highly skilled player who possessed explosive skating ability, Klassen was touted by pro scouts as one of the top North American players in 1975, and was appropriately selected high in the two amateur drafts; 3rd overall in the first round by the now defunct National Hockey League's (NHL) California Golden Seals and 5th overall by the World Hockey Association's Cleveland Crusaders in the first round of the draft. The first seven players selected in round one of the 1975 NHL draft were all major junior players from the Western Canada Hockey League (now WHL), as Klassen was. The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was reported by many scouts of the day as a relatively weak field of draft-eligible amateur players, many who had questionable ability to perform to the high standard in the pro ranks. The only standout was Mel Bridgman, who had played with the WHL's Victoria Cougars (drafted number one overall by the Philadelphia Flyers) performing reasonably well in his career related to his draft status, in comparison to other draftees. In all, the 1975 amateur draft did not produce many longstanding professional players as referenced by the 1975 NHL First Round Draft Log. Only eight players out of a field of eighteen drafted in the first round played more than 400 NHL games. When many drafted players of that year were signing unusually large contracts and opting to begin their careers in the fledgling World Hockey Association, Klassen chose a more traditional route, going to the established National Hockey League, where he signed his first pro contract with the California Golden Seals (at that time located in Oakland, California) for US$70,000 per season.
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