An Interview With Ed Ronan

I am not entirely sure why, but I always had a certain fascination with watching Ed Ronan when he played for the Montreal Canadiens. Maybe it was because he was the 4th line underdog, and I always have a soft spot for such players. Maybe it was because he played with physicality and tenacity that should have warranted more ice time. Or maybe it was just because he wore #31 - what an odd sight to see a skater crashing and banging around in jersey usually reserved for goaltenders.

Guest writer Ange Frederick Lavallée recently interviewed Ed Ronan. They talked about his growing up in a hockey family in Massachusetts, his surprise NHL draft, his time in the NHL and what he and his family are up to nowadays. 

An Interview With Ed Ronan
By guest writer Ange Frederick Lavallée

I woke up around 7 Am that morning. I was a little nervous and didn’t sleep too well the night before. What did I throw myself into? I, Ange Frederick Lavallée, a hockey historian to be, was about to have an interview with a former Stanley Cup champion? I was ready, I was prepared, I was so nervous! Before going to work, my girlfriend reminded me of how gutsy she thought I was for succeeding to get the interview and she left with these words : ‘’ It’s gonna be fine! ‘’

So I get these words in my head….it’s gonna be fine….it’s gonna be fine…yeah ok, but I’m no professional! I’m scared I will sound like some trashy Québécois whose English is deficient, even though I’m almost completely bilingual...

I drank a cup of coffee, read some news, and before I knew it, I was on the phone with Ed Ronan!

“Hello!”

“Hello, Mr. Ronan?”

I couldn’t believe my ears! I was on the phone with a Stanley Cup Champion! Ronan did his fair share in the Canadiens 1993 Stanley Cup run, scoring two goals and registering five points. He was kind enough to spare some of his busy time for an interview on his life and his hockey career.

Ed Ronan was born on March 21st, 1968 in Quincy, Massachusetts. He grew up in North Andover, where he learned to skate on the pond near the family house.

“I come from what we could call a hockey house. My older brother played hockey, as well as my father’s brother, who played college hockey,” said Ronan who, like lots of other young kids, would spend hours skating on the pond.

A good majority of young hockey players are also huge NHL fans, but the love of young Edward for hockey grew almost exclusively from skating on the little homemade rink.

“I was playing hockey recreationally. My brother and I spent hours on the ice...even before going to school! I knew very young that I wanted to play in the NHL. You see the adults…you admire them, you want to emulate them,” said the former Boston Terriers winger.

And he adds, “When I grew a little older, just before high school, I wanted to concentrate on getting to play at the college level.”

Ronan spent ten years playing in Massachusetts Youth Hockey Program. He grew up with Steve Heinze, a former Boston Bruins player, and they played hockey together.

“I was at the right place at the right time, because the Youth Hockey Program developed at the same time I came into the system.”

The right winger was playing at the highest levels, but he was not amongst the most talented. People often laughed at him and tried to crush his dreams. “Fat chance!” said his brother about him making the NHL, and many others who thought the gritty player wouldn’t make it very far in hockey.

Did he ever think of quitting ?

“Not at all. It’s just a person’s opinion. I certainly had my weaknesses and I knew I had to improve a lot.”

Ronan was drafted as a high schooler by the Montreal Canadiens, in the 1987 entry draft. He wanted to be a professional hockey player, but he didn’t even expect to be drafted at that time. He was stunned to find out from a classmate in his High School that he had been drafted by the Canadiens…it was several days after the draft.

“I couldn’t believe it!” I studied one extra year in High School (called a Post-Graduate year) at Phillips Academy (PA) in Andover , Massachusetts only for academic reasons, because I was hoping to attend Princeton University. My plans changed a bit when André Boudrias, a scout for the Canadiens, saw me play at PA and I was drafted.”

Holding that Montreal jersey must’ve been quite the moment.

“As far as I knew back then, that could’ve been the highlight of my career! I knew I was far from the NHL and I just wanted to concentrate on my scholarship at Boston University for the next four years and improve my game.”

The Massachusetts native played four years with the Boston University Terriers. He had teammates like Shawn McEachern, Tony Amonte and Keith Tkachuk. The Terriers won the Hockey East League Championship in 1991, before losing in the NCAA championship game to Northern Michigan.

“That game went to triple overtime and even though we lost, that was definitely my best memory during my time there!”

In 1991 the 23 year-old Ronan signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens organization after his time in B.U. , and played his first three NHL games that year, as he was called up along with Paul DiPietro and Jesse Belanger to fill in for injuries.

“My first game was at the Boston Garden against the Bruins. It was a great experience, playing in front of my family at the Garden...against Raymond Bourque, which I idolized when I was a kid. I actually remember going one on one against him...I tried to put the puck between his legs, but he stopped me easily. Great memories.”

1992-93 would have to be described as Ronan’s highlight season, as the right winger played 53 games with the big club, amassing 12 points, including five goals. He also scored 2 goals in the playoffs, helping the Canadiens capture their 24th Stanley Cup.

“Having a streak of ten overtimes without losing is definitely my best memory from the Cup run. It really shows the character that the team had back then. We a close team and got along with each other very well…and we had good nerves!”

Following the Cup, the robust Ronan would play two full seasons in the NHL with the Habs. Unfortunately, that would change during the 1995-1996 season. The Winnipeg Jets claimed him off waivers on October 13th, 1995. Only 17 games ( and not a lot of ice time ) later, Ronan was sent down to the AHL Springfield Falcons, where he would finish the season nicely and play solid hockey in the playoffs.

That hard work paid off, as the Buffalo Sabres organization signed Ronan to a two-way deal for the 1996-97 season. The Boston University graduate kept on playing good hockey in the AHL ( Rochester Americans ), and the Sabres gave him the call to finish the season and help in the playoffs.

“I got called up midway through the season. I played with Mike Peca and Jason Dawe, which was their first line. They were a blue-collar team and that was more my style of play. I had a really good time there.”

After the season, Ronan was at crossroads. He had a young family and a new baby on the way so he took the beginning of next season off. He was signed by the Providence Bruins, where he actually ended his hockey career. He was pretty young at 30 years old, was Europe an option?

“No. I was always about getting to the next level. Playing in the NHL and then going backwards...I would’ve continued if I could’ve stayed in the NHL, just to see how good I could get...but it was time to go on with my working career. It was more stability for my family.”

Ronan has been working in the financial industry for 12 years now.

“My job is similar to hockey in some ways because it’s a competitive field, you’re working with very disciplined people. They’re a lot like your typical athlete, driven for achievement and success. I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with people that are like that, because that’s me.”

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Larry Robinson

If you had to build your team's blue line around your choice of one defenseman in NHL history, you certainly couldn't go wrong selecting Larry Robinson.

Larry Robinson's first impression was as a policeman obtained to protect the Habs smaller, more gifted skaters. His last impression was as one of the greatest defenseman of all time.

Robinson, at 6'4" and well over 200lbs, was exactly what the Canadiens needed to create the dynasty of the 1970s that many consider the greatest team of all time. The team was loaded with smaller and extremely talented skaters, but what they needed was a tough, no-nonsense blueliner who would force the opposition to think twice before taking any liberties on the Habs skilled stars, as well as to the keep the crease clear of giants, thus making Ken Dryden's job much easier. Robinson established himself in this position early in his career when he defeated infamous pugilist Dave "The Hammer" Schultz in front of a national TV audience. His reputation was quickly established, and he rarely had to drop the gloves again to prove it. Instead he played an intimidating and physical but clean game that was his natural style.

Big Bird, as he became known as, was always more than just a goon though. When he was drafted he was a bit of a diamond in the rough with great potential. I think even the biggest Robinson supporters were surprised that all of that potential was reached and then some.

Robinson became an almost flawless defender. Blessed with a near perfect understanding of positioning, an amazingly long reach, and physical prowess combined with a frequent mean streak, Robinson became the pre-eminent defenseman in the modern era. Every team covets a monster on the blue line who can control the games power forward by installing fear in the minds before the game even starts, yet add an offensive level that is well above average. Modern day warriors like Rob Blake, Chris Pronger, Scott Stevens and Derian Hatcher do their best to imitate Robinson, an intimidating devastator who almost never made a defensive mistake.

Robinson developed into an offensive threat as well. He was a catalyst on the power plays as he was a strong puck carrier and brilliant passer. In his younger days he was a frequent puck rusher. He finished his career with 208 goals, 750 assists for 958 points in 1384 games. He accumulated 793 minutes in penalties in 20 years, 17 with Montreal, the final three with Los Angeles.

Robinson was a major part of 6 Stanley Cup Championships. A six time All-Star, he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP in the playoffs in 1978, as well as 2 Norris Trophies as the top defenseman in the NHL. He once held the record for most playoff games participated in in NHL history.

There is little doubt that Robinson played on one of the greatest teams ever assembled. It should not be underestimated that he was a big a part of those teams as anyone.

"He's taken quite a few games I've seen and broken them open with an end-to-end rush" admired long time Boston Bruins defenseman Mike Milbury. "As far as I'm concerned, Larry's far and away the Canadiens' MVP."

And Robinson thrived in the Montreal pressure cooker.

"I honestly believe that if I'd played somewhere else, I might not have had the career I had. It wasn't just a game in Montreal," Robinson told interviewer Adam Proteau. "Every day you had to be at your best. You needed that drive. You needed to be pushed."

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Danny Gallivan

He never played the game. Yet in Montreal he is beloved almost as much as Rocket Richard and Guy Lafleur.

He is Danny Gallivan, the English voice of hockey in Montreal for three decades. In that time he broadcasted close to 2000 games including 16 Montreal Stanley Cup championships. Known nationally for his creative additions to the hockey lexicon (heck, to the English language) such as cannonading shot and spinnerama, Gallivan became a national treasure on par with Foster Hewitt.

Baseball Was First Love



Gallivan, the son of a coal shipper, was a star baseball player as Sydney, NS, as a youth. He was even invited to the New York Giants training camp, but an arm injury would rob him of his Major League Baseball career.


Gallivan turned the world of broadcasting, but all but lucked into the Montreal job. Regular announcer Doug Smith fell ill one night. Gallivan stepped in, not knowing any of the opposing players. In fact, this was the first NHL game Gallivan had ever seen.


Two years later Smith moved permanently to cover football, Gallivan would see a lot more NHL games. He became Montreal's announcer from 1952 to 1984.


The Dead Mike


No profile of Gallivan is complete without mentioning the story of the dead mike.


Gallivan was set in his ways and did not warm to new technology. When headsets complete with microphones arrived Gallivan refused to use it as he favoured his trusty old friend, the microphone. Eventually Gallivan agreed to use the headset (although he often just turned down the volume so he didn't have to hear the producers talking to him) but he would hold a dead mike in his hand. On one night he was interviewing a guest with this unplugged microphone. No one ever heard what the guest had to say.


Hockey Night In Canada


Montreal was once the center of everything NHL, but headquarters were moved to New York while Toronto took over as the media capital. The powers that be at Hockey Night in Canada did not want Gallivan beyond Montreal games. English Canada wanted someone else, Hockey Night in Canada reasoned. This began a phasing out of sorts.


How wrong HNIC was. That was never more evident than in February 1993 when, at the age of 75, he passed away. The outpouring of affection from across the country was inspiring.

For many, including many of today's broadcasters, Danny Gallivan was the standard of excellence in sports broadcasting. We could not have been any luckier to have Gallivan as the example.

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Claude Cyr

In 1959, Montreal's starting goalie Jacques Plante pulled a muscle and was unable to play for a couple of games. The Canadiens replaced Plante with a goalie named Claude Pronovost in the middle of the third period. Pronovost got the start the following game (March 19, 1959) but gave up 5 goals in the first two periods.

Earlier that day Montreal made an agreement with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of Eastern Ontario Hockey League. Hull-Ottawa loaned goalie Claude Cyr to Montreal until Jacques Plante was healthy again. At the beginning of the third period Claude Pronovost was pulled in favor of Cyr, who surrendered only one goal. The Canadiens lost the game to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3, with Pronovost getting the loss. For Cyr it was his only 20 minutes of NHL action.

Cyr, a Memorial Cup champion in 1958, also appeared in games for the Montreal Royals (EPHL), Cleveland Barons (AHL), Calgary Stampeders (WHL), Knoxville Knights (EHL) and Verdun, Sherbrooke, Victoriaville and Drummondville (QSHL).

Besides his 20 minutes of NHL fame, Cyr was a late addition to the 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters. He was a backup goaltender to starter Seth Martin. The Smoke Eaters won the World Championship that year, defeating the Soviet Union. Cyr participated in 3 games, winning 2 with a goals-against-average of 2.24.

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