Eric Martin Strobel (born June 5, 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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 hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who was a member of the "

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tourna ...

" 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Amateur career

Strobel attended Rochester

Mayo High School Mayo High School (Mayo) is a public high school in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It is named after the brothers William James Mayo and Charles Horace Mayo, physicians and founders of the Mayo Clinic. It is a public school and part of th ...

where he earned all-conference honors in 1973-74, 1974–75 and 1975–76 before moving on to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He was a member of the 1979

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

team.

International

Strobel first played for Team USA at the 1979 Ice Hockey World Championships in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. His coach from Minnesota,

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' ...

, was the coach for the U.S. for the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

Professional career

Drafted 133rd overall in the

1978 NHL Entry Draft The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Dra ...

by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

, Strobel never played with the parent club. He managed only half a season as a professional playing for their top minor league team, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), before he broke his ankle during an AHL playoff game in the spring of 1980, and retired from hockey.

Post playing career

Strobel returned to Minnesota after his retirement and became a telephone sales executive in

Apple Valley, Minnesota Apple Valley is a city in northwestern Dakota County in the State of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 56,374 at the 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Minnesota. In 2014, Money.com' named Apple ...

. He previously coached the Peewee A team for the Eastview Athletic Association in Apple Valley.

Personal

Strobel met his future wife Kim when he returned to university after his playing career ended, and they have two daughters, Leslie and Krista. Strobel's father,

Art Strobel Arthur George Strobel (November 28, 1922 – October 11, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played seven games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers during the 1943–44 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from ...

played for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. Eric Strobel suffered a minor stroke on October 31, 2006 and recovered in the hospital. He leads a normal life after undergoing physical therapy.

In popular culture

Strobel was not featured in ''

'', a 1981 TV movie, but appears in archival footage of the gold medal ceremony. Robbie MacGregor portrayed Strobel in the 2004 film ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

''.

Awards and honors

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Strobel's Hockeydraftcentral.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strobel, Eric 1958 births 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team American men's ice hockey right wingers Buffalo Sabres draft picks Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Living people Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey People from Apple Valley, Minnesota Ice hockey people from Dakota County, Minnesota Rochester Americans players Sportspeople from Rochester, Minnesota NCAA men's ice hockey national champions