Years before he was an All-Star in the National Hockey League, Mike Ridley was an All-Canadian with the University of Manitoba Bisons men's hockey team.
On Tuesday, he earned Canada West's highest honour, joining his coach Wayne Fleming in the conference's Hall of Fame.
Ridley is one of the first 100 inductees into the Canada West Hall of Fame, as the conference celebrates 100 years this season.
Ridley played forward with the Bisons for two seasons from 1983-85, amassing an incredible 68 goals and 79 assists in 76 games before going on to a 12-year NHL career with stops in New York, Washington, Toronto, and Vancouver. His last season as a professional was played with the Manitoba Moose in 1997-98.
The Winnipeg native was the first Bisons hockey player to have his jersey retired. Ridley's number seven hangs from the rafters of the Wayne Fleming Arena and was officially retired on January 26, 2004. The Mike Ridley Awards were also established that season as an endowment fund for future Bisons men's hockey student-athletes.
Ridley's talent was apparent immediately upon joining the Bisons in the fall of 1983. In his first season, he was the GPAC (Great Plains Athletic Conference) Rookie of the Year, MVP, as well as an All-Star and the conference's leading scorer. He was also named a Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (now U SPORTS) Player of the Year and an All-Canadian. Ridley helped lead the Bisons to a GPAC title in 1983-84, following a 19-4-1 regular season coached by the legendary Wayne Fleming.
In the following season of 1984-85, Ridley was once again GPAC MVP and an All-Star, leading the Bisons to a second straight championship following a 17-3-4 regular season. He was also a CIAU All-Canadian. In 76 total games played in the brown and gold, Ridley scored 68 goals and totalled 79 assists for an amazing 147 points.
Ridley signed with the New York Rangers prior to the 1985-86 NHL season, and went on to lead the team in assists (43) and points (65) en route to being selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Midway through 1986-87, Ridley was traded to Washington, where he would spend the next seven and a half seasons and have the greatest stretch of his professional career, including an appearance in the 1989 NHL All-Star Game.
Over parts of eight seasons with the Capitals, he played 588 games, scoring 218 goals and picking up 547 assists. The Winnipeg native was dealt to Toronto following the 1993-94 campaign. At the time of the transaction, he was Washington's No. 2 career goal scorer, and ranked third all-time for the franchise in assists and points.
Ridley would play one year with the Leafs, before being acquired by Vancouver, where he spent his final two NHL seasons. He retired with totals of 292 goals and 466 assists for 758 points overall in 866 NHL games. He added 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 104 post-season contests.
Along with his coach Wayne Fleming, Ridley joins joins builder Joyce Fromson, women's basketball coach Coleen Dufresne, women's volleyball alum Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, women's soccer alum Desiree Scott, the 1968-70 Vanier Cup-winning Bisons football teams, and football alum Israel Idonije as Bisons that have been inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame.
More information on the Canada West Hall of Fame.
