Goaltender, Cabinet Minister and Author
Our Speaker for October, Ken Dryden, was a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s, during which time the team won six Stanley Cups. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 2017, Dryden was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.
Ken is also a lawyer, businessman, and author of several books. He was a Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011, and a Cabinet Minister from 2004 to 2006. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He grew up in Etobicoke. He and his wife, Lynda, live in Toronto, and have two children and four grandchildren.
Ken Dryden, will give us a Brief 10 minute introduction of himself at our next Probus meeting, followed by a Question and Answer session with our members. This will be a great opportunity for you to find out more about this great Canadian.
Ken Dryden
Ken Wayne Dryden is 74 years old and was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. He has a sister, Judy, and a brother, Dave, who was also an NHL goaltender. Dryden was raised in Islington, Ontario.
Goaltender
Ken started his hockey career by playing with the Etobicoke Indians of the Metro Junior A Hockey League as well as Humber Valley Packers of the Metro Toronto Hockey League.
Selected by Boston in the 1964 Amateur Draft, Dryden was traded to Montreal shortly thereafter, making his debut with the Montreal Canadiens in the final days of the 1970-1971 season. He was the starter in goal during the post-season for Montreal, and the Habs went on to defeat the Boston Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, in 7 games. The Canadiens then went on to become the Cinderella team of 1971, unexpectedly winning the Stanley Cup title.
After seven full years as goalie on one of the greatest hockey dynasties, Ken Dryden retired following the 1978-79 season. He left the ice with a Calder Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, five Vézinas and six Stanley Cup Championships to his credit.
Dryden stands third among Montreal goaltenders for games played, wins, shutouts and career goals-against average. His 112 playoff games place him second among his Canadiens peers. No other Montreal goaltender has more playoff wins or shutouts than Ken Dryden.
Returning to hockey in 1997, Dryden took over as President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a position he held until 2004.
Cabinet Minister
Dryden joined the Liberal Party of Canada and ran for the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election. He was selected by party leader and Prime Minister Paul Martin as a “star candidate” in the Toronto riding of York Centre, then considered a safe Liberal riding.
He was named to Cabinet as Minister of Social Development. Dryden won generally favourable reviews for his performance in Cabinet.
Dryden was re-elected in the 2006 federal election; however, the Liberals were defeated and Paul Martin resigned the party leadership. Interim party and opposition leader Bill Graham named Dryden to his shadow cabinet as health critic.
Dryden was re-elected again in York Centre in the 2008 election., but lost to the Conservatives in the 2011 election.
Author
Dryden wrote one book during his hockey career: Face-Off at the Summit. It was a diary about Team Canada in the Canada vs. Soviet Union series of 1972.
After retiring from hockey Dryden wrote several more books. The Game was a commercial and critical success, and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 1983. His next book, Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada (1990), written with Roy MacGregor, was developed into an award-winning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation six-part documentary series for television. His fourth book was The Moved and the Shaken: The Story of One Man’s Life (1993). His fifth book, In School: Our Kids, Our Teachers, Our Classrooms (1995), written with Roy MacGregor, was about Canada’s educational system. Becoming Canada (2010) argued for a new definition of Canada and its unique place in the world.
In 2019, he published Scotty: A Hockey Life Like No Other, his biography of his Canadiens coach Scotty Bowman.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 