[BillyShoe1721]

D Reed Larson



3x NHL All Star Game Participant
9x Top 8 Goals Among Defensemen(1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8)
7x Top 14 Assists Among Defensemen(5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14)
9x Top 14 Points Among Defensemen(3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14)
Detroit Red Wings Captain, 1980-82
73 career NHL fights

Voting Recognition:

1 All Star Point in 82, 83, 84
1 Norris Point in 79, 85
10th All Star, 77-78
3 All Star Points, 85
4 Norris Points, 81

During 9 year peak(among defensemen), 1977-78 to 1985-86:

2nd in Goals(1 behind Coffey), 4th in goals/game
5th in Assists(behind Potvin, Robinson, Coffey, Salming, 19th in assists/game
3rd in Points(behind Coffey, Potvin), 10th in points/game

A tough, offensive defenseman, he was particularly well known for his hard slap shot. Larson became the first American player to score 200 goals and he appeared in the 1978, 1980 and 1981 NHL All-Star Games as the Red Wings representative. He finally made his international debut for the United States national team at the 1981 World Ice Hockey Championships tournament and also represented the U.S. at the 1981 Canada Cup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Larson

Reed Larson ranks as one of the greatest American born and raised hockey players in the history of the sport. That being said, he is rarely recognized as such. This is partly because his career pre-dated the generation of American stars that first gained acclaim in the NHL, players like Jeremy Roenick, Brett Hull and Chris Chelios.

Reed Larson's hockey sense was uncanny, as he could read plays develop better than most players. He was a top offensive defenseman throughout the early 1980s, thanks largely to his effective shot. He would score many goals in his career, and many of his assists were a result of rebounds or deflections from his booming point shot.

Larson, a Minneapolis, Minnesota native, who starred in Minnesota high school hockey and later at the University of Minnesota before leaving school early to join the Detroit Red Wings in 1977. Though he left university early, he always cherished his time as an amateur. He led the team to a national championship in his second year, and he should have won another but his school was upset by Michigan Tech.

Larson was drafted 22nd overall by the Red Wings in 1976 but returned to school after he couldn't agree on a contract with the Wings. However when Reed was suspended from WCHA competition for the rest of the season after assaulting an on-ice official, Larson decided to join the Red Wings with 14 games left in the NHL season.

Reed proved he was ready for the NHL almost from day one as he embarked upon one of the greatest hockey careers any American defenseman has ever had. He finished as runner-up in the NHL rookie of the year race thanks to an impressive 19 goal, 60 point season. That was just a sign of great things to come. Over the next nine years as a Red Wing, the smooth skating defenseman amazingly never scored fewer than 17 goals or 58 points! Those totals included five consecutive 20-plus goal seasons including a career high 27 in 1980-81; and he had 8 of 9 seasons with over 60 pints, including a career high 74 in 1982-83. As a Red Wing he participated in three NHL all star games, as well as the 1981 Canada Cup and 1981 world championships.

A late season trade in 1986 saw Larson become a member of the Boston Bruins, where he played for parts of three seasons. It was with Boston that Reed tallied his 200th NHL goal, a milestone for defenseman and the single most celebrated statistic in his career.. He was the first American and only the 6th NHL player to reach the lofty level.

http://redwingslegends.blogspot.com/...ed-larson.html

Reed Larson is the pure product of the Minnesota youth hockey program. High school hockey reaches a fevered pitch each year during their annual tournaments. It was in this context that Larson burst onto the high school scene as an all-city and all-state player. Three seasons under coach Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota molded the young defender into one of the steadier defensemen of his generation.

Larson broke into the NHL via the Detroit Red Wings where he was a runner-up for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. The acknowledgement was no fluke. In the ensuing years he recorded five 20-goal seasons and eight 60-point campaigns. He was the first American-born player and the sixth defenseman to score 200 career goals.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/Legen...p?player=13320

When Reed Larson wound up at the point, players scattered and goalies prayed he'd shoot wide.

"I faced a lot of shots, but no shooter fired the puck harder than Reed Larson," said goalie Ron Low, who dealt with Larson as an opponent and in practice as a Detroit teammate. "No matter what anyone says, Bobby Hull never shot the puck as hard as Reed did."

Those powerful blasts allowed Larson to rewrite the record book for Red Wings defensemen and for American-born NHL players. A native of Minneapolis, Larson won an NCAA title with the University of Minnesota in 1976, the year the Wings drafted him. "Reed has unlimited potential," Detroit GM Ted Lindsay said. "The potential to be an all-star."

He made his NHL debut late in the 1976-77 campaign, then rocketed to stardom the following season.

His 41 assists and 60 points were new records for Detroit defensemen, let alone for Wings rookie rearguards. But, like Babe Ruth's home-run numbers, Larson just kept breaking his own marks.

"He moves so effortlessly and he's got a lot of talent," assessed fellow Wings defenseman Terry Harper.

Larson collected 67 points in 1978-79 and tallied 22 goals in 1979-80, breaking the club mark for goals by a defenseman of 20, set by Flash Hollett in 1944-45. Not satisfied to stop there, Larson bagged 27 goals in 1980-81, one of six 20-goal seasons during his career. He garnered 52 asissts and 74 points in 1982-83, once again bettering his own records.

Larson is one of only three defensemen in NHL history to record at least nine straight seasons with 50 or more points. His nine successive 50-point campaigns came from 1977-78 through 1985-86, joining Paul Coffey (15) and Phil Housley (11) in this select group.

Larson posted five consecutive 20-goal seasons from 1979-80 through 1983-84. Among NHL defensemen, only Bobby Orr (seven) ever put together a longer stretch of 20-goal performances.

Serving as Detroit captain in 1980-81 and 1981-82, Larson played for the United States in the 1981 World Championships and Canada Cup. He collected his 451st point as a Wing on October 1, 1984 to surpass Red Kelly as the all-time leading scorer among Detroit defenders. Larson was the first U.S.-born NHLer to collect 500 points and the fifth Red Wing to reach this plateau.

"He was a good skater, moved the puck well and had quite a shot," was current Wings coach Scotty Bowman's scouting report on Larson.

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=43853

Minneapolis Roosevelt’s Reed Larson joined the revolution by dunking his stick blades in boiling pots of water, then wedging them in doorways and other tight spaces while giving them a good bend.

The resulting banana blades added velocity and lift to Larson’s already cannon shots. The homespun “technology” was only small component in the creation of what is widely regarded as one of the hardest slap shots in state high school history.

“We all did that,” said Bill Baker, a former standout Grand Rapids defenseman, about doctoring stick blades. “But we didn’t shoot like Reed.”

The stocky Larson (he stood 5-foot-11 and weighed 185 pounds as a sophomore) spent his summers water skiing at his parents’ lake cabin. He was also into wrestling and gymnastics.

“That had a lot to do with my muscle development,” Larson said about his non-hockey activities. “Gymnastics was actually my favorite. If I turned on the Olympics that’s what I wanted to watch.”

Larson said he attended YMCA summer camps where his counselor was a state gymnastics champ. The rings and high bar were two of his preferred disciplines.

Muscle was packed onto muscle as those gymnastics-built beefy forearms and thick wrists were stressed and strained during regular shooting sessions in the Larsons’ garage.

“I helped my dad clean out one side of it, and we found an old wrestling mat that we hung up to shoot at,” Larson said. “I loved to shoot. I was always experimenting with different sticks and shafts and curves.”

The slippery plastic of an old “Mini-Boggan” sled served as the launching pad for slap shot after slap shot.

Larson was playing varsity for Minneapolis Roosevelt as a sophomore in 1971-72, and by his junior and senior seasons had established himself as one of the state’s premier defensemen.

“He had a great shot from the 10th grade on,” former Roosevelt coach Bucky Freeburg said. “He broke a lot of sticks and a lot of ankles and everything else. He was a tough kid who had a little mean streak in him. He proved that right away his first year.”

Minneapolis Roosevelt's Reed Larson won an NCAA title with the University of Minnesota in 1976. Star Tribune file photo

The Teddies were 16-1-2 when they reached the 1974 state tournament with Larson, a senior, as their leading scorer.

Roosevelt led Grand Rapids 2-1 entering the third period, but the Indians tied it in the first minute. The game was extended to overtime, and Grand Rapids won the quarterfinal matchup 3-2 on a goal by Erin Roth.

According to Freeburg, Larson was at the center of a controversial play in the third period.

“He took a 100-mph shot from center ice and scored, and they called one of our players offsides,” Freeburg said. “That was really a killer. The goal would have put us up 3-1, and the way we were really playing tight defense against them, I don’t think they would have come back.”

Larson said the Teddies might have been looking past Grand Rapids and ahead to a potential showdown against eventual champion Edina East. Larson said Roosevelt had matched up well against the Hornets despite losing a regular season showdown between the teams.

“I would have liked to play Edina again,” Larson said. “I really believe we were the second best team in the state behind Edina.”

Larson went to the University of Minnesota, where he won a national championship in 1976.

Baker, who had played against Larson in the 1974 state tournament, was teammates with Larson with the Gophers. Baker said Minnesota's unsophisticated power play acquired the nickname "Feed Reed." As in, get the puck to Larson, then get out of the way.

http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_arti...errer_id=32760

The loss of Reed Larson's toughness, character, and explosive shot from the point was too much for the Gophers.

http://books.google.com/books?id=z2e...0wings&f=false

Other Bruins who have impressed during the 1980s include Charlie Simmer, Cam Neely, Reed Larson, and even little Nevin ... For all his Red Wings days, Larson laboured on a perennial loser but he handled it like a gentleman throughout .

https://www.google.com/search?q=reed...w=1366&bih=638

Detroit's star rookie Reed Larson didn't want to talk about his record point total in the Red Wings 7-0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres last night.

Even though the defenseman scored his 19th goal and added four assists to set an NHL record of 57 points for a rookie defenseman, Larson much preferred to talk about his club's playoff position.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...d+larson&hl=en

Reed Larson, the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Detroit Red Wings

https://www.google.com/search?q=reed...2F1992&tbm=nws

With [Glen Wesley] in the penalty box, former Bruin Reed Larson fired in a slapper for a power-play goal that made it a 2-1 Boston lead

https://www.google.com/search?q=reed...w=1366&bih=638

Reed Larson joined an elite group, Gilles Gilbert nailed down a No. 1 goaltending job and together Thursday night they lifted Detroit Red Wings a step closer to an NHL playoff spot.

Larson, holder of several scoring records for Detroit defensemen, slid a wrist shot past Chicago goaltender Murray Bannerman during a first period power play to snap a 1-1 tie and the Red Wings went on to post a surprising 4-2 victory over Chicago Blackhawks.

With his goal, his 20th of the season, Larosn joined former great Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin of New York Islanders as the only NHL defensemen in history to reach the 20 goal plateau in four consecutive years.

"That's all right," Larson beamed when informed of the feat. "I'm not complaining."

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...d+larson&hl=en

Note: Larson did it 5 years in a row(as did Coffey), and the only other player with a longer streak is Bobby Orr

Wasting no time, Larson boomed it by goalie Rollie Melanson for the 5-1 lead. There are sounds, like the snaps and slaps off the sticks of Reed Larson

https://www.google.com/search?q=reed...w=1366&bih=638