| Rob McClanahan | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 McClanahan as a member of the Buffalo Sabres | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1958-01-09)January 9, 1958 (age 68) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left wing | ||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | ||||||||||||||||
| Played for | Buffalo Sabres Hartford Whalers New York Rangers | ||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||
| NHL draft | 49th overall,1978 Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1979–1984 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Bruce McClanahan (born January 9, 1958) is an American former professionalice hockey player who played 224 games in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theBuffalo Sabres,Hartford Whalers andNew York Rangers between 1980 and 1983. McClanahan was a member of the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team thatbeat the Soviet Union en route to a gold medal atLake Placid in 1980.[1]
McClanahan attendedMounds View High School and went on to play three seasons for theUniversity of Minnesota, winning the1979 NCAA national championship. After representing the US at the1979 World Championship tournament inMoscow, McClanahan joined the US Olympic team on a full-time basis and scored 34 goals in 63 exhibition games. The culmination of McClanahan's amateur career came at the 1980 Olympics inLake Placid, New York, when he scored five goals in seven games while helping his country win the gold medal. He scored the winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland (which the U.S. came back to win 4–2) two days after the historic American victory over the Soviets.
During the opening game of the Olympic tournament againstSweden, McClanahan sustained a bruise on the upper thigh, which left the US team's roster short a second player, as teammateJack O'Callahan had been injured during the exhibition game against theSoviet Union only three days prior to theOlympics. A now famous argument between McClanahan and Team USA's coachHerb Brooks during the intermission helped motivate McClanahan to return to the game and play through his injury, inspiring his team to a come-from-behind draw againstSweden that proved vital to achieving gold medal success later in the tournament.
McClanahan was selected forty-ninth overall in the1978 NHL Entry Draft by theBuffalo Sabres but did not begin playing with the Sabres until 1980, shortly after the Olympics. His NHL career was comparatively short-lived as he was mostly used as a role player. He bounced between the NHL and theAmerican Hockey League and played part of the 1983/1984 season in theCentral Hockey League with theTulsa Oilers[2] before finishing his NHL career under his old Olympic coach Herb Brooks with theNew York Rangers in 1984 (he also represented theHartford Whalers in 1981–82). During his professional career, McClanahan also was a member of Team USA at the1981 Canada Cup.
McClanahan became a financial broker after retirement, beginning his career withMorgan Stanley in 1985, then working forBear Stearns andPiper Jaffray, where he was managing director. He joined the Minneapolis office of ThinkEquity Partners in March 2002 as Principal and became the company's Head of Trading.
He also was featured inAmerican Dad! season 6 episodeReturn of the Bling.
McClanahan is currently the head coach of The Blake School boys varsity hockey team.
McClanahan was played byNathan West in the 2004Disney movieMiracle, which told the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal win. West had been a goalie for the junior hockey team theDetroit Whalers in theOntario Hockey League and has a tattoo of theNational Hockey League logo on his arm.[3]
In a1981 TV movie about the same subject calledMiracle on Ice, McClanahan is portrayed by Ken Stovitz.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1975–76 | Mounds View High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 40 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 38 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 43 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | United States | Intl | 63 | 34 | 36 | 70 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1980–81 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 53 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 1980–81 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 18 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 27 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Rangers | NHL | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1982–83 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 46 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1983–84 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 10 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 224 | 38 | 63 | 101 | 126 | 34 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 31 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | United States | WC | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| 1980 | United States | OLY | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1981 | United States | CC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Senior totals | 21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 10 | |||
