The NHL / Chris Baker : Kings’ Grant Ledyard Has a Strong Background in Athletics

When defenseman Grant Ledyard of the Kings scored his first National Hockey League goal last season while playing for the New York Rangers, he sent the puck to his mother in Winnipeg, Canada.

Ledyard, 24, the youngest of six children, was raised by his mother, Barbara, after his father, Hal, a former Canadian Football League quarterback, drowned in April, 1973 while swimming at Big Sur.

“When you’re a young kid and your father dies, you really don’t have anyone to turn to,” Ledyard said. “My older brothers helped me. But in later years, after they left home, I didn’t have anyone except my mother.

“I took it the hardest just because I was the youngest kid. I remember when my dad used to take me to football games and he’d let me sit up in the press box with him.”

Ledyard’s father, an American, played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Ottawa Generals and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played on back-to-back Grey Cup championship teams in Winnipeg under Coach Bud Grant and often would go hunting and fishing with Grant.

Ledyard retired and became a sportscaster, covering the Blue Bombers for a Canadian TV network. He was 41 when he died while on a business trip to California.

“He was waiting for a flight home and he took a swim at Big Sur and got caught in the undertow,” Barbara Ledyard said. “He quite often used to go for a swim in the ocean on business trips.”

Barbara Ledyard said she kept the family in Winnipeg instead of returning to the United States because it would have been too tough to pull her kids out of school and away from their friends. She took a job with the Blue Bombers to support her family. She’s now the secretary for Coach Cal Murphy.

Grant Ledyard, who was born in Winnipeg on Nov. 19, 1961, played football in high school, but gave it up for hockey.

“I was too small to play football and I was actually too small to play hockey,” said Ledyard, now 6-2 and 190. “I didn’t start to grow until I was 19. I know that my dad was a professional athlete. And I thought it would be good for me to a professional athlete, too. My brothers used to wear his number (12).

“I was a late bloomer. When I was 20, I was planning on going to the University (of Manitoba) for my third year. But the Rangers offered me a contract as a free agent.”

Ledyard’s junior team won the Manitoba provincial championship. He was signed by the New York Rangers as a free agent in 1982, then was called up by the Rangers last January after injuries to defensemen Tom Laidlaw and Barry Beck.

In 42 games with the Rangers last season, Ledyard had 8 goals and 12 assists.

Ledyard had two goals and nine assists in 27 games with the Rangers this season before being traded to the Kings on Dec. 9 along with goalie Roland Melanson for left wing Brian MacLellan.

“I didn’t expect anything like this,” Ledyard said of the trade. “I’ve got a lot of Ranger blood in me.

“It was a big surprise. I was in my second year in the NHL and I was just beginning to feel comfortable in New York.”

The Kings are high on Ledyard. In addition to his regular shift, he also plays on the power play and penalty killing units.

“He handles the puck well and has a hard shot,” said Jay Wells, Ledyard’s defensive partner. “Grant’s going to be a heck of an asset to our team.”

Said King Coach Pat Quinn: “He’s big enough to handle one-on-one situations in front of the net. He’s a guy that is only going to get better.”

But Ledyard, an offensive defenseman, is having trouble adjusting to his new team. He has not scored a goal in the six games since the trade, but does have four assists.

“I’ve been having a little bit of trouble adjusting to the trade,” he said. “I haven’t had that much time to learn (the Kings’) system.”