Rick Chartraw
Encyclopedia
Raymond Richard Chartraw (born July 13, 1954 in Caracas
, Venezuela
) is a retired American professional ice hockey
defenseman
who played 420 games in the National Hockey League
between 1974 and 1984. Selected tenth overall in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft, he was the first American drafted in the first round.
Chartraw was born in Caracas
, Venezuela
while his American father was employed there as an engineer.http://habslegends.blogspot.com/2007/06/rick-chartraw.html The family moved back to the United States when Rick was three, and he grew up in Erie
, Pennsylvania
. He learned to play hockey there (he was also a promising golf
player) before moving to Canada
as a teenager to play junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers
.
career with the Montreal Canadiens
in 1975. He spent seven years in Montreal before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings
. Later, he would play for the New York Rangers
and Edmonton Oilers
. He won four Stanley Cup
s with the Habs (1976 to 1979) and one with the Oilers (1984). He only played 24 games, and 1 playoff game in 1984 for Edmonton, so he did not qualify for engravement on the Stanley Cup. He also played for Team USA in the 1976 Canada Cup
.
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
) is a retired American professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenseman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
who played 420 games in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
between 1974 and 1984. Selected tenth overall in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft, he was the first American drafted in the first round.
Chartraw was born in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
while his American father was employed there as an engineer.http://habslegends.blogspot.com/2007/06/rick-chartraw.html The family moved back to the United States when Rick was three, and he grew up in Erie
Erie
Erie is a city in Pennsylvania, United States.Erie may also refer to:*Erie , a tribe of Native Americans-Places:*Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of North America*Erie Canal, a canal running from the Hudson River to Lake Erie...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He learned to play hockey there (he was also a promising golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
player) before moving to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as a teenager to play junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted...
.
Hockey career
Rick started his National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
career with the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
in 1975. He spent seven years in Montreal before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Later, he would play for the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
and Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
. He won four Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s with the Habs (1976 to 1979) and one with the Oilers (1984). He only played 24 games, and 1 playoff game in 1984 for Edmonton, so he did not qualify for engravement on the Stanley Cup. He also played for Team USA in the 1976 Canada Cup
1976 Canada Cup
The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2–15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec, Canada as well as in Philadelphia, United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup tournaments held between 1976 and 1991...
.