Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Randy Gregg will be inducted into the Oilers’ Hall of Fame on Oct. 25, alongside Craig MacTavish, following the Oilers’ game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This honour is well-deserved, as Gregg spent parts of 10 seasons with the Oilers, playing in 453 regular season games—ranking him 31st in franchise history, and his 188 career points rank him 32nd overall and 8th among defencemen. Additionally, he is one of only seven players to be a part of all five of Edmonton’s Stanley Cup-winning teams. With that in mind, here are some interesting facts about the former steady blueliner.

Gregg Is an Accomplished Alumnus of the U of A Golden Bears

Gregg, a native of Edmonton, AB, studied at the University of Alberta, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1974, while entering the Faculty of Medicine, he decided to try out for the Golden Bears hockey team. Not only did he make the team, but he went on to become one of the most accomplished players in the program’s history.
He played for the U of A for four seasons on the Golden Bears blue line, during which the team won the Canada West championship four times and the National Championship twice. Additionally, in 1979, he received the Wilson Challenge Trophy as the university’s most outstanding male athlete.
After retiring from professional hockey in 1992, following 474 games—mostly with the Oilers—Gregg completed his residency training program at the U of A Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. After finishing his residency, he opened a sports clinic in Edmonton, where he has practiced as a physician for over 30 years.
Additionally, in 1991, U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada, introduced the Dr. Randy Gregg Award, named after Gregg, which recognizes student-athletes who demonstrate outstanding achievement in hockey, academics, and community involvement.

Gregg Wasn’t Just Great at Hockey, He Earned MVP Honours in Baseball

The Alberta Major League was a senior baseball league that started in 1967, and a fun fact is that it featured an ‘Edmonton Oilers’ team from 1969 to 1971. However, the Edmonton Tigers joined the league in 1975, and Gregg was part of that team as a pitcher—talk about a talented athlete. Furthermore, he was recognized for his talent with the bat, as highlighted in a tournament description from 1978:
“Randy Gregg, with three home runs, a single and two walks, powered Alberta to a berth in the Canadian Senior Baseball Championship final Saturday with an 11-7 win over Ontario. Gregg, who smacked a pair of four-baggers Friday, started off early with a two-run homer in the first inning. He had another two-run circuit clout in the 5th and a single shot in the 9th.”
Gregg played for the Tigers baseball team from 1975 to 1982, and in 1978, he was named the Most Valuable Player as the Tigers won the Canadian Championships. Moreover, perhaps Gregg’s passion for baseball led him to continue his involvement in the sport, as he is currently the managing director of the Edmonton Riverhawks, a baseball team that has enjoyed considerable success in the West Coast League. This past summer, they set a new single-season attendance record of 116,971 fans, surpassing their previous record of 104,748 people at RE/MAX Field.

Gregg Is a Two-Time Olympian

Father David Bauer founded the Canada Men’s National Ice Hockey Team program in September of 1963 and built teams that won bronze medals at the IIHF World Championships in 1966 and 1967, as well as at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He held the highest standards for the athletes who played for him.
That said, after playing for the Golden Bears, Gregg, still an amateur, rejected an offer from the New York Rangers to play for the team. Instead, he accepted an invitation from Bauer to represent Team Canada in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, where he was chosen as captain.
Overall, Gregg and his Canadian teammates finished in sixth place in the Olympics. Additionally, the D-man became a two-time Olympian when he represented Canada for the second time at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, where the team finished in fourth place. In addition to his Olympic performances, he was also part of Canada’s team for the 1984 Canada Cup.

Gregg’s Unique Hockey Journey Led Him to Become a Player/Coach in Japan

After playing with the Canadian National Team in 1980, Gregg took an unconventional path to maintain his amateur status, ultimately aiming for another chance to represent Canada on the Olympic stage. He made his way to Japan to man the blue line with the Kokudo Bunnies, where he played for two seasons from 1980 to 1982, recording 62 points in 71 games (24 goals, 38 assists). During this time, he also served as a player-coach for a company team in Tokyo. In 1987, Gregg reflected on the experience, saying:
“The owner just admired rabbits. To him, they were noble animals or something. Of course, it was a little difficult to intimidate your opponent in the corners when you had a bunny on your jersey.”
After two seasons playing in Japan, the blueliner returned home to Canada and signed a deal with the Oilers. The D-man said, “If too much more time passed, I felt I’d never get the chance to pit my skills against some of the greatest hockey players in the world.” The Edmonton, AB native made his debut for the Oilers in the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he tallied two assists in four postseason games.

Gregg Belongs to Multiple Hall of Fames

Given Gregg’s accomplishments with the Oilers, his induction into the Oilers Hall of Fame is certainly well-deserved. Additionally, his overall career accomplishments have led to honours in several halls of fame.
In 1983, he was inducted into the University of Alberta’s Sports Wall of Fame, and in 1999, he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame for his two Olympic appearances in 1980 and 1988. In 2022, Gregg was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame alongside notable names like Cassie Campbell-Pascall, John Davidson, and Ken Hitchcock.
On a personal note, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had Mr. Gregg as my hockey coach during my youth. I wasn’t aware of all his achievements back then, but looking back now, it’s clear why many of his lessons have remained with me for over 20 years. He made team bonding a priority, not just on the ice but off it too, like when he took the whole team to watch ‘Remember the Titans’ at the movie theatre. He not only helped me see the game from a unique perspective but also shaped how I view it to this day. A big congratulations to Mr. Gregg on his induction into the Oilers Hall of Fame!

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