A Flame From the Past: Doug Risebrough

Do you remember Doug Risebrough?

It’s been a hot minute, but this is “A Flame From the Past,” where we look at forgotten players who played a significant number of games for the Calgary Flames. I’ll put every Flames season (since moving to Calgary) in the Wheel of Names. This week, it landed on the 1986-87 season, with the player we’ll look at in today’s article being Doug Risebrough.

Risebrough was born in Guelph, Ontario, and played for his hometown Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League team. Named the Guelph CMC’s in 1971-72, the left-shot centre scored 20 goals and 53 points in 56 games. The following season, he scored 47 goals and 107 points in 60 games. 

His last junior year was in 1973-74, where he played with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey Association, a precursor to the Ontario Hockey League. In his draft year, he scored 25 goals and 52 points in 1973-74. This led to the Montréal Canadiens selecting him seventh overall in the 1974 draft, while the Cleveland Crusaders of World Hockey Association selected him 10th overall in the same year.

Risebrough’s only minor league action came in 1974-75, where he scored five goals and nine points in seven games with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. That same season, the 5’11”, 183 lbs forward played 63 games with the Canadiens where he scored 15 goals and 47 points, along with 198 penalty minutes. In the post-season, Risebrough added three goals and eight points in 11 games.

He became a full-time player with the Canadiens in 1975-76, scoring 16 goals and 44 points in 80 games, with 180 penalty minutes. Risebrough played 13 post-season games as the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup.

In 1976-77, Risebrough scored a career-high 22 goals and 60 points in 78 games, as the Canadiens went on to win the Cup once again. They three-peated in 1977-78, with Risebrough scoring 18 goals and 41 points in 72 games. The Canadiens reached dynasty level in 1978-79, winning their fourth consecutive Cup. Risebrough chipped in with 10 goals and 25 points in 48 regular season games, along with a goal and seven points in 15 post-season games.

He stuck around with the Canadiens for three more seasons, compiling 36 goals and 85 points in 151 games, scoring just three goals and four points in eight playoff games. On Sep. 10, 1982, the Canadiens traded Risebrough and a 1983 second-round pick to the Flames for a 1983 second and a 1984 third.

In just his first season with the Flames, Risebrough nearly matched his career-best in both points and goals, totaling 21 goals and 58 points in 71 games. He surpassed his career-best in goals the following season, scoring 23 goals and 51 points in 77 games, along with two goals and three points in 11 post-season games.

Risebrough only played 15 regular season games with the Flames in 1984-85, scoring seven goals and 12 points. The Flames were bounced early in the 1985 post-season, but Risebrough returned in 1985-86, scoring 15 goals and 43 points in 62 games. He was also a big contributor in their Stanley Cup push in the 1986 post-season, scoring a career-best seven goals and 16 points in 22 playoff games as the Flames fell to his former team.

After scoring just two goals and five points in 22 regular season games, along with an assist in four playoff games, Risebrough hung up the skates after the 1986-87 season. The Guelph native remained involved with the game, joining the Flames’ coaching staff, winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 1988-89 as an assistant.

Risebrough even served as the head coach and then the general manager, with his most notable trade being the disastrous Doug Gilmour trade; there’s only room for one Doug. After he was let go by the Flames in late 1995, he joined the Oilers, and then the Minnesota Wild early in the 1999-2000 season, until he was let go from that general manager position in 2009. He most recently worked as a Team Consultant for the New York Rangers.