Ron Duguay (born July 6, 1957 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach who played 12 seasons in the NHL between 1977 and 1989, and served four seasons as a minor league coach.

[edit] Career

Duguay was drafted 13th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 864 career NHL games, scoring 274 goals and 346 assists for 620 points. His best offensive season in the league was the 1984–85 season while playing for the Detroit Red Wings, when he recorded 38 goals and 89 points. The following season he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After briefly returning to the Rangers, Duguay finished his NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988–89. He continued playing in the minor leagues for a few years, though, with the San Diego Gulls and Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League.

In 2003 he joined the Jacksonville Barracudas, then playing in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Duguay played six games as a Barracudas forward, then took over as the team's head coach. In the 2003–2004 season Duguay led the Barracudas, now playing in the World Hockey Association 2, to the league's best record and playoff championship. In 2004 the Barracudas joined the newly-formed Southern Professional Hockey League.

With Duguay as coach, the Barracudas' overall record over 3 1/4 seasons was 92–92–0–3 with a 6–3 playoff record. Duguay resigned as coach after an unsuccessful 2005–06 season, in which more than 50 different players left the team as it limped to a 15–39–0–2 record. On his resignation, he told the Florida Times-Union that he was "tired."^[1]

On March 21st and 22nd, 2009, Duguay played in a game apiece for the minor league hockey teams the Brooklyn Aces and the Jersey Rockhoppers to raise money for the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit organization associated with Madison Square Garden^[2]. Duguay signed a waiver, and played his game with the Brooklyn Aces without a helmet, which allowed his hair to flow free as it did when he played in the NHL. With 37 seconds left in regulation, he assisted on the game-tying goal, but the Aces would lose 4-3 in overtime.

Ron is currently (Fall '09) competing in the Battle of the Blades competition as seen on CBC. The charity he is skating for is 'World Vision Canada.' He currently appears as an in-studio analyst during MSG Network's coverage of the Rangers.

The Sudbury Wolves have retired his jersey.

In 2009, Duguay was ranked No. 49 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).

[edit] Personal Life

In the NHL, Duguay was noted for his long curly hair which would blow behind him as he skated without a helmet. In the 1970s he was more widely known as a pop icon and a sex symbol than for his athletic talents. He and teammates Phil Esposito, Dave Maloney & Anders Hedberg appeared in a TV commercial for Sasson designer jeans.

In the 1990s Duguay married former fashion model Kim Alexis. After marrying Alexis, Duguay moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He currently resides in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne, New Jersey.

When he was a child he resided in Val Caron, Ontario. When he got drafted into the NHL he put in a pool at his parent's house which still resides there to this day.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jacksonville Barracudas
• Ron Duguay's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database