Ralph Klassen ✝

Klassen was born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. He entered the major junior hockey ranks in the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL) at the age of 15.\n', ' Klassen played his entire major junior career with the Saskatoon Blades of the WCHL, where he skated for five seasons, as a center and left wing. His highest scoring production as a junior with the Blades was 77 points including 23 goals, in 1973–74. He captained the Blades in 1974–75, and played for the Team Canada team at the World Junior Hockey Championships, earning a silver medal in 1975. Klassen played 300 games for the Blades, second only to Fred Williams, who holds the distinction of playing the most games for the team in its history, at 319 games.\n', ' A highly-skilled player who possessed explosive skating ability, Klassen was touted by pro scouts as one of the top North American players in 1975,[citation needed] and was appropriately selected high in the two amateur drafts: 3rd overall in the first round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the California Golden Seals and 5th overall by the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in the first round of the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft. When many drafted players of that year were signing unusually large contracts, opting to begin their careers in the fledgling WHA, Klassen chose a more traditional route, and signed his first pro contract with the California Golden Seals for US$70,000 per season.\n', '