The Honourable Kenneth (Ken) Wayne Dryden, PC, B.A., LL.B., Hon. PhD. (born August 8, 1947 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author and retired NHL goalie. He is currently Minister of Social Development in Paul Martin's Liberal government.

Hockey Career

Dryden was drafted fourteenth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1964 NHL Amateur Draft. Rather than play in Boston, Dryden pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree at Cornell University, where he also played hockey until his graduation in 1969.

At Cornell, Dryden led his team to the 1967 NCAA championship and three consecutive ECAC tournament championships. He is generally regarded as the greatest college hockey goaltender of all time.

Having been traded by the Bruins to the Montreal Canadiens for Guy Allen and Paul Reid, two players who would never even make the NHL, Dryden made his NHL debut in 1970 for the Canadiens and became the backbone of six Stanley Cup winning teams in the 1970s. Considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time, Dryden played from 1970 to 1979 (excluding the 1973-74 NHL season , when he retired to pursue the requirements for his law degree at McGill University) and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Compared to most other goaltending greats, Dryden's NHL career was extremely short, only seven full seasons. Therefore, statistically he did not amass record totals in most categories. However, although it has been noted that he played for a dynasty, his statistical percentages are unparalleled. In the regular season, .650 winning percentage, a 2.24 goals against average, and, most incredibly, only 57 losing games and 46 shut outs in 397 total games. No modern goaltender has ever been even remotely close to earning nearly as many shut outs as recording losing games. He won the Vezina Trophy for lowest goals against average five times and in the same years was selected as First Team All-Star.

Education

Dryden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Cornell University and a degree in Law at McGill. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Ottawa, University of Windsor, York University, McMaster University, Saint Mary’s University, Niagara University and University of British Columbia.

Writing Career

After retiring from hockey Dryden became an author. His book The Game (1983, ISBN 0470833556) was a commercial and critical success being nominated for a Governor General's Award. His next book, Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada (1990, ISBN 0771028725), written with Roy MacGregor, was developed into an award-winning CBC six-part documentary series for television. His third book was The moved and the shaken: The story of one man's life (1993, ISBN 0670821705 ). His fourth book was In School : Our Kids, Our Teachers, Our Classrooms (1995, ISBN 0771028695), written with Roy MacGregor, was about Canada’s education system.

Business Career

He served as Ontario's first Youth Commissioner from 1984 to 1986. Dryden worked as a television hockey commentator at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics. He became president of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club in 1997, remaining at that post until 2004.

Political Career

In the Canadian federal election of June, 2004 Dryden, representing the Liberal Party, was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of York Centre. Dryden had been selected by Prime Minister Paul Martin as a "star candidate" in what is considered a safe Liberal riding. After the election, Dryden was named to the Cabinet, despite never having held elected office before. Dryden made headlines on February 16, 2005 after a sexist remark by Conservative MP Rona Ambrose who directed the following quote towards Dryden "working women want to make their own choices, we don't need old white guys telling us what to do."

Family

He and his wife, Lynda, have two children, Sarah and Michael.

Trivia

Ken Dryden served as a color commentator alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels for ABC's coverage of the famous Miracle on Ice.

External link

• IMDb entry