Despite playing his first National Hockey League games during the 1970-71 season, Ken Dryden was drafted way back in 1964 and it wasn’t by the Montreal Canadiens. Dryden was taken in the third round by the Boston Bruins, 14th overall. It was just the second NHL Amateur Draft and only 24 players were selected. Sponsorship still existed in the league so the draft was mostly for players not in the OHA. Just nine of those 24 went on to play in the NHL.
Dryden didn’t go to play in Boston. He played at Cornell University from 1965-66 to 1968-69. It really wasn’t until the 1970-71 Stanley Cup playoffs that Ken surfaced as an instant NHL great. His immediate impact was leading the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup championship and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
After Montreal finished third in the East Division, 24 points behind first place Boston Bruins, Ken played all 20 playoff games for the Habs. Montreal upset Boston 4-3 in the quarter-finals before taking out the Minnesota North Stars in the semi-finals in six. The Canadiens met the Chicago Black Hawks in the finals. The Hawks had their own young star goalie in net with Tony Esposito. Chicago went up 2-0 in the series and also held a 3-2 lead but Montreal battled back to win the series in seven games and capture the Stanley Cup.
The following year, 1971-72, Dryden was the recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. To date, he is the only player to win the Conn Smythe before winning the Calder.
Ken played in the NHL from 1970-71 to 1978-79. Taking 1973-74 off meant that Dryden played just eight years in the NHL, including the partial 1970-71 season. Yet, in 1983 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His number 29 was retired by the Canadiens in 2007. His number 1 was retired by Cornell University in 2010, along with Joe Nieuwendyk’s number 25. Ken and Joe are the only two to have their numbers retired by Cornell.
In his eight years, Dryden won the Vezina five times and was a First Team All-Star five times and a Second Team All-Star once. He was the number one goalie on an amazing six Stanley Cup winning teams with Montreal. He retired after 1978-79 as the Habs won their fourth of four in a row.
Although a member of the 1972 Team Canada squad that competed against the Soviet Union at the Summit Series, Dryden’s numbers were less than legendary. He played four games, recording a 4.75 goals against average and a .838 save percentage.
The Ken Dryden rookie card is number 45 in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is the highest valued player card in the set at $300. The second highest valued belongs to the rookie card of teammate Guy Lafleur at $200. The complete set is valued at $1500.
Dave Dryden
Ken’s brother was also an NHL goalie. Dave Dryden played in the NHL from 1965-66 to 1973-74 and for one season in 1979-80. Additionally, he played a single game with the New York Rangers in 1961-62 as a call-up from junior. He played with the Chicago Black Hawks and Buffalo Sabres before jumping to the World Hockey Association. He returned with the Edmonton Oilers for the 1979-80 season. In the WHA, he played for the Chicago Cougars and Edmonton.
The Dave Dryden rookie card appeared as number 57 in the 1967-68 Topps set. The card was valued at $15.