Doug Risebrough

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Douglas "Doug" Risebrough (pronounced RIGHS-brow) (born January 29, 1954 in Kitchener, Ontario) is the current General Manager for the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently in his seventh season with the Wild and 31st season in the NHL. In his 31 years in the NHL, he has been a player, coach and executive, and has been involved with the Stanley Cup Playoffs 25 times.

Contents 1 Playing History 2 Coaching and Management History 3 The Minnesota Wild 4 Personal

[edit] Playing History

Risebrough was the Montreal Canadiens’ first pick (7th overall) in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. In eight seasons with the Canadiens, Risebrough led Montreal to four consecutive Stanley Cup titles (1975-79). He was traded to the Calgary Flames on September 11, 1982, and spent the next five years with the Flames. During his tenure with Calgary, Risebrough skated as the Flames captain for four seasons, serving as a tri-captain with both Lanny McDonald and Jim Peplinski. In 1986, as a Captain, Doug Risebrough led the Flames to his fifth Stanley Cup Finals as a player. They eventually lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

Throughout his career, Risebrough was an agitator, often assigned to pester the opponents' top players. In one famous chapter of the Battle of Alberta, Risebrough, while playing with the Flames fought with Marty McSorley. Risebrough lost the fight, but ended up with McSorley's jersey, which he shredded with his skates.

In 740 career NHL games, Risebrough totaled 185 goals and 471 points. He added 21 goals and 37 assists in 124 Stanley Cup playoff contests. He also held a total of 1542 penalty minutes during the regular season, and an additional 238 in the playoffs. During his 13-year career, teams on which Risebrough played recorded a .660 regular season winning percentage (607-274-159).

[edit] Coaching and Management History

After announcing his retirement as a player following the 1986-87 season, Risebrough served two seasons as an assistant coach with the Flames. He helped guide Calgary to two consecutive President’s Cup Trophies and the 1989 Stanley Cup championship, his fifth Stanley Cup championship as a player or coach. He was promoted to assistant general manager for the Flames before the 1989-90 season, and served as Calgary’s head coach for the 1990-91 campaign. On May 16, 1991, Risebrough became only the second general manager in Flames’ history, and served as both general manager and coach for the first 64 games of the 1991-92 season. He relinquished his coaching duties on March 3, 1992, but continued his role as Calgary’s general manager until November 2, 1995.

Prior to joining the Minnesota Wild, Risebrough served as the Edmonton Oilers vice president of hockey operations from 1996 to 1999. With the Oilers, the Guelph, Ontario, native was involved in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations department. Edmonton advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the three seasons Risebrough was with the organization. The turnaround followed four consecutive years in which the Oilers did not make the playoffs.

[edit] The Minnesota Wild

He was named the first-ever executive vice president/general manager of the club on September 2, 1999, and took on the expanded role of president of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) on July 23, 2003. As president, his responsibilities include overseeing the direction of all business aspects surrounding MSE, a regional sports and entertainment leader, including the Minnesota Wild, its minor league affiliate the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, the National Lacrosse League’s Minnesota Swarm, Wildside Caterers, 317 on Rice Park and the facility management of Xcel Energy Center and the Saint Paul RiverCentre. Risebrough also oversees the hockey operations department including all matters relating to the club’s player personnel, coaching staff, scouting department, and minor league personnel.

Risebrough has instilled his vision for building a winning tradition in Minnesota based on the values of team, preparation, honesty and passion. The team’s continued success on the ice in its first four years has laid a foundation for the future. The club posted its second straight winning season with a 30-29-20-3 overall mark in 2003-2004 and, for the fourth straight year, boasted a winning record on home ice (19-13-7-2). In 2002-03, the Wild became the third expansion team since 1991 to earn a playoff berth in its third season with a 42-29-10-1 record. Minnesota advanced to the Western Conference Finals by defeating Colorado and Vancouver, and became the first team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason.

The team’s 95-point total in 2002-03 ranked second all-time amongst third-year clubs. Minnesota surpassed its 2001-02 total by 22 points. The club’s 22-point improvement ranked as the third highest point total increase in the NHL. The Wild posted a 26-35-12-9 record and 73 points in 2001-02, five points ahead of its inaugural season mark of 25-38-13-5 (68 points). Minnesota’s total of 73 points ranked fifth all-time amongst second-year clubs. Risebrough has overseen the development of the team by adding veterans Brian Rolston, Todd White, Dwayne Roloson and Wes Walz to a talented group of young players that includes first-round draft choices Marian Gaborik, Mikko Koivu, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns, along with Nick Schultz, Pascal Dupuis, Rickard Wallin and Stephane Veilleux.

[edit] Personal

He and his wife, Marilyn, have two daughters, Lindsay and Allison. The family resides in Edina, Minnesota. Risebrough enjoys spending time outdoors camping, canoeing, and fishing.

Preceded by Phil Russell

Calgary Flames captains 1983-87

Succeeded by Lanny McDonald Jim Peplinski

Note: Risebrough & McDonald were co-captains during the 1983-84 season. Risebrough, McDonald & Peplinski were tri-captains during 1984-87 seasons.