Randy Gregg

Randy Gregg’s career in youth hockey had been undistinguished but, upon entering the University of Alberta’s medical school in 1975, he decided to try out for the team and ended up making the cut. From 1975 through 1979 he played as a defenseman for the school, collecting two national championships and an award for best intercollegiate player. This was more than sufficient for him to be selected for Canada’s delegation to the 1980 Winter Olympics, where Canada won three games, lost two, and finished third in the pool behind Finland and the eventual silver medalists from the Soviet Union, which placed the Canadians sixth overall. Playing in the Olympics forced him to set aside his medical internship, as well as reject a handsome offer from the New York Rangers, but his loss in Lake Placid only increased his thirst for Olympic hockey. In order to remain eligible for the 1984 Games, he skated for two years with Japan’s Kokudo Keikado Tokyo, but eventually decided to return home and turn professional. He rejected higher offers from the Rangers and the Calgary Flames in order to play for his hometown Edmonton Oilers. With the exception of a brief stint with the Vancouver Canucks during the 1991-1992 season, he would remain with the Oilers for his entire career, winning Stanley Cups in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.

Gregg’s tenure with the Oilers, however, was never entirely stable. He retired briefly in 1986, but then returned, intending to have a more permanent retirement in 1987 as he prepared to complete his medical residency. An international career, however, once again beckoned. He had played for Team Canada at the 1984 Canada Cup, but in 1987 the International Olympic Committee announced that the 1988 ice hockey tournament would be open to professional players and Gregg was a perfect candidate, as he was not at the time affiliated with any National Hockey League team (the NHL refused to allow its current players the time off to compete at the Games). Unable to pass up an opportunity to represent his country at a home Olympics, he suited up for the national team, which ended up finishing fourth in the rankings. He then rejoined the Oilers and remained with them until what seemed like a final retirement in 1990.

Although he did play for Vancouver in 1991-1992, Gregg returned to medicine permanently and took up a career as a family physician after his residency. He married Canadian Olympic speed skater Kathy Vogt, whom he met at the 1980 Olympics, and, as of 2014, two of their four children have represented Canada at the Games. Jamie and Jessica competed for Canada in short track speed skating and speed skating in 2010 and 2014, with the latter taking silver in the 3000 metre relay in 2010. Jamie, meanwhile, married Danielle Wotherspoon, who was a speed skater at the 2014 Games. In addition to his numerous hockey accolades, the Dr. Randy Gregg Award is given annually by Canadian Interuniversity Sport to an academically and athletically talented student athlete in ice hockey in his honor.