Ex-NHLer Ramage shares his cautionary tale with Hendricken juniors and seniors

Kevin Pomeroy, Sports Editor
Posted 11/13/14

Rob Ramage had it all, a notion he readily acknowledges.

The 1979 No. 1 overall pick in the National Hockey League entry draft, Ramage was selected ahead of future Hall of Famers Mark Messier and …

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Ex-NHLer Ramage shares his cautionary tale with Hendricken juniors and seniors

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Rob Ramage had it all, a notion he readily acknowledges.

The 1979 No. 1 overall pick in the National Hockey League entry draft, Ramage was selected ahead of future Hall of Famers Mark Messier and Ray Bourque, he won a pair of Stanley Cups – one with the Calgary Flames and another with the Montreal Canadiens – and he was selected to four all-star games, playing in the NHL for 15 years.

Life was good for Ramage, both then and into retirement, until one day in 2003, when the former star was driving while impaired with former Chicago Blackhawks captain Keith Magnuson and Ramage swerved into on-coming traffic, leaving Magnuson dead and the driver of the other car injured.

Ramage was fine, but the death of his friend resulted in a sustained jail sentence and a life of guilt he carries to this day.

Ramage shared his cautionary tale with the juniors and seniors at Bishop Hendricken High School on Wednesday morning, advising the students and faculty on the importance of making proper decisions throughout their lives.

“I hope by hearing my story it will help you with decisions today, tomorrow and in the future,” Ramage told the crowd at the Daniel S. Harrop Theater.

The story Ramage told was a harrowing one, as he opened with the positives in his life, taking the crowd through his past as a junior hockey star in Canada, a top NHL draft pick and a star in the league for well over a decade.

Following his hockey career, he went to work as a stockbroker, where he again found success. Eventually, he returned to the game as an instructor with the St. Louis Blues, in a city where he had made his home.

A short time later, it all unraveled on the night of Dec. 15, 2003. Ramage contrasted his storybook journey up until that point with his sudden situation, where he wasn’t a hockey star, but instead was Prisoner No. 807852E.

He didn’t actually go to prison until 2010, when the entire legal process – including appeals – had played out. At that point, he was sent to a maximum-security prison, and he described in detail the 65 days he spent at that facility behind bars.

He was 51-years-old when entering prison, where he saw nearly unspeakable acts happen regularly, turning his world upside down.

Ramage spoke to the combination of his situation combined with the guilt he had over the death of Magnuson, who’s wife Cindy, son Kevin and daughter Molly were left without a husband and a father.

“They won’t ever have their dad there,” Ramage said.

After his two months in maximum security, he was transferred to a minimum-security facility, where he spent the next 10 months. It wasn’t quite as dangerous as his first stop, but not far off, and he shared conversations with drug dealers and admitted murderers.

His next step was a halfway house, where he was stayed for a year, followed by his release and two years on parole. His sentence recently expired in July.

Yet, his story was also one of modest redemption, as he displayed a card he had hung on his cell wall that simply read “I believe.” It was sent to him by the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, close friend Marc Bergevin. When Ramage was finally released, Bergevin gave him a job as a player development coach with the organization, something that Ramage attributes to friendship and the goodness of Bergevin’s heart.

Today, Ramage continues to work as a development coach for the Canadiens, and his family stuck by his side throughout his entire incarceration and legal process.

He still keeps in touch with the family of Magnuson, and Ramage has a son, John Ramage, who is currently in the Flames’ organization.

Ramage considers himself lucky to be where he is, thanks to the kindness of others and the forgiveness of the Magnuson family.

But his storybook life, the one where he had it all, will never be the same.

“Make good choices,” Ramage told the crowd. “Make good decisions. Be wise beyond your years. And God bless you.”

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