John Gillies Mark Grahame (born August 31, 1975) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

goaltender who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play ...

and

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the Tampa Bay Lightning in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

Playing career

Grahame played in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

for the

Sioux City Musketeers The Sioux City Musketeers are a junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Musketeers' home ice is Tyson Events Center. The team was founded in 1972, and has won three Anderson Cups ...

before he was drafted in the ninth round, 229th overall by the

in the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NH ...

. He then elected to play three years of collegiate hockey with the

Lake Superior State Lakers The Lake Superior State Lakers (LSSU Lakers) are the athletic teams that represent the Lake Superior State University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Lakers compete as members ...

of the CCHA, and would later become the only Lakers goaltender to play more than 50 games in the NHL or win the Stanley Cup. John turned professional in the 1997–98 season, and was assigned by the Bruins to start for the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...

. In his second pro year, Grahame returned to the P-Bruins and took the team to the playoffs, leading them to victory in the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

. In the 1999–2000 campaign, Grahame started the season back in Providence, but was called up to the Boston Bruins mid-season to back up

Byron Dafoe Byron Dafoe (born February 25, 1971) is a British-Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Worthing, England, United Kingdom and moved to Comox, British Columbia with his mother at the age of two months. Between 199 ...

in the Bruins' net, where he played credibly and was second in balloting to the league's all-rookie team. However, a broken ankle in the 2000 offseason took a long time to heal, and Grahame struggled to recapture his form. He played for the next three seasons in Boston before being traded midseason in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

to the

. The following season, Grahame returned to standard, having the best season of his career as a backup for the

-winning club. Grahame's presence allowed starter Nikolai Khabibulin to get extended rest when he needed. He became Tampa Bay's starting goalie in the

2005–06 NHL season The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the Natio ...

, but was criticized publicly by head coach

John Tortorella John Francis Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head ...

after consecutive poor starts which contributed to the Lightning being eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs. Grahame signed a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the

on July 1, 2006. He was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes on January 4, 2008. The Hurricanes called up

Michael Leighton Michael W. Leighton (born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. Playi ...

from the team's AHL affiliate, the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Wi ...

, to replace him as the team's

backup goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

after Grahame began the season with a 4–6–1 record. The Hurricanes recalled Grahame on January 21. During this time, Grahame played a single game for the United States Olympic team in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

, and also was the starter for the United States National Team in the 2007 World Championships. In May 2008, after the conclusion of the Hurricanes' season, as a free agent, Grahame signed with

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental ...

of the new Kontinental Hockey League. On December 12, 2009, Grahame signed a professional tryout contract for the 2009–10 season with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

AHL affiliate, the

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center an ...

. After playing in 12 games with the Phantoms, Grahame signed a contract with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

and was assigned to the injury-hit

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Ho ...

on March 3, 2010. He played in 14 games, recording only 4 wins, with the Monsters to finish the season and was re-signed on a one-year contract by the Avalanche on July 2, 2010. He was brought up to the Avalanche on February 11, 2011, after Craig Anderson went back to Denver for personal reasons. He sat on the bench serving as

Peter Budaj Peter Budaj ( ; born 18 September 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He had previously played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, which drafted him, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Tam ...

's backup for two contests and did not see any playing time. At the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, he retired after the Monsters made it to the playoffs for the first time in their 4-year history. On March 28, 2012, he briefly came out of retirement and signed a contract with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

to serve as a backup for the injury depleted team through the remainder of the 2011–12 season. At the completion of the season he did not manage to feature in a game for the Islanders.

Coaching career

On September 15, 2011, it was announced the Grahame would become the goaltending coach for the

of the

, a team that he had previously played for in his career.

Personal

He is the son of former professional goaltender

Ron Grahame Ronald Ian Grahame (born June 7, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League and four in World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1981. Playing career After a collegiate ...

, who served as assistant athletic director at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. His father was traded for the draft pick used to select John Grahame's future teammate

Ray Bourque Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memoria ...

. His mother,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

was a member of the front office of the

that won the Stanley Cup. John & Charlotte are the first mother and son to get their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
The Goaltender profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahame, John 1975 births Living people Adirondack Phantoms players Albany River Rats players American men's ice hockey goaltenders Avangard Omsk players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Carolina Hurricanes players Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Lake Erie Monsters players Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Providence Bruins players Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning players Ice hockey players from Denver Sioux City Musketeers players