Sunday Chat is a weekly feature that appears on The Blade’s print and digital platforms each week.
Former Toledo Storm forward Rick Judson knows the euphoria of helping his hometown pro hockey team win a coveted Cup.
Unfortunately, the Bedford High School graduate also knows the pain — and life-altering impact — of surviving a horrific automobile accident.
After playing at the University of Illinois-Chicago in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Judson was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 10th round of the 1989 NHL draft. He ended up playing in 27 games in the higher-level IHL. But Judson went on to author a hall of fame career in Toledo.
Judson, 55, helped lead the Storm win back-to-back Riley Cups in 1993 and 1994. Those are the last two pro hockey titles the city has celebrated.
After his pro career ended in 2005, Judson settled in the area and raised a family. Then, in October of 2023, Judson's vehicle was hit head-on by a cement truck on Airport Highway. Judson suffered a broken femur, pelvis, and ribs, and a severe forearm contusion. Judson recovered well enough to attend a Toledo Storm reunion at the Huntington Center on Jan. 27, 2024, as he walked onto the ice using a cane to a standing ovation.
A member of the inaugural Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame class in 2016, Judson also was elected to the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2019.
A Lambertville, Mich., native, Judson is the Storm's all-time leader in games played (455), goals scored (197), assists (244), and points (441). The left winger was named Most Valuable Player of the 1993 playoffs after posting 23 points, with seven goals and 16 assists in 16 games.
Nicknamed “Juddy,” the left winger retired in 2006. Judson, who attended Toledo Goaldiggers games growing up, is now a part-time color commentator on Walleye TV and radio broadcasts.
Judson stands 22nd in ECHL history with 213 goals and ranks 35th with 489 points in 525 career games (42nd) with Toledo and Greenville in 11 seasons from 1991-2006.
Judson is a commercial industrial electrician for IBEW. He and his wife, Melissa, have five children: Regan (26), Devyn (24), Rylee (18), Madison (17), and Jacob (15).
The Blade: What do you remember about the terrible accident you were involved in?
Judson: “I was working out in Delta and heading east when a cement truck lost control and shot into my lane, hitting me on my driver's side. My car folded like an accordion, except for the part right above my head, which is weird. I don't remember getting hit. The only thing I remember is waking up and people were in the car. My driver's side door was stuck to the front of the cement truck. I couldn't comprehend what was going on. I do remember hearing the sirens.
“I had been driving my daughter's car at the time to save on gas. I had driven it the week before. But for some reason, that day, I didn't drive it, and I drove my truck. And if I would have driven that car, according to the state trooper, I would not be here. They told me at the hospital that I should play the lottery.”
The Blade: Were you taken to the hospital by helicopter?
Judson: “I didn't get life-flighted because the weather was bad. I do remember one of the paramedics said that he lived in Fort Wayne when I played in Fort Wayne. He said he saw me playing in Toledo for a lot of years. When we got to the hospital, I remember him telling everybody there, ‘If you aren't hockey fans, this is Rick Judson. He was a great player in the early ’90s. Take good care of him.’”
The Blade: Have you fully recovered? Can you take any positives out of it?
Judson: “My goal for our reunion was to be able to be there on the ice. I walked out with a cane. I teared up. That helped me tremendously too, because my former teammates helped me throughout the whole thing. Hockey and being an athlete helped me through it. We're taught to play through pain. It's hard sometimes because you wonder why the hell it happened to you. But people have things way worse than me with horrible afflictions that I couldn't imagine. So I try to be better at staying in touch with people. You try to be positive about it.”
The Blade: What was it like growing up in Lambertville?
Judson: “My dad [Richard] put me in hockey, and then at Bedford, I played baseball and football. I played travel hockey in Detroit. It was a good childhood. I had a lot of friends. I'd ride my bike everywhere. My dad put a rink out in the backyard, and I was skating and I just enjoyed it. We played street hockey, baseball, whatever. But hockey had most of my interest. I played goalie one time. I still have a picture of it. They must have scored like 15 goals on me. I was very upset, and that was the last time I ever played goal. So I stuck with forward. Every true forward likes to score goals.”
The Blade: What do you remember about attending Goaldiggers games?
Judson: “My dad had season tickets behind the goal. I remember stuff getting thrown on the ice. After the game, we'd go around and pick up the paper beer cups, and if you'd step on them, they'd make an echo through the arena. I have pictures of myself, Ted Tucker, and Doug Mahood. I went to their hockey camps in the summers.”
The Blade: What do you remember about being drafted by the Red Wings?
Judson: “Detroit always had a great organization. But at that time, I was excited because they weren't having good seasons. But that 1989 draft was the year they drafted [Nicklas] Lidstrom, [Sergei] Fedorov, and [Vladimir] Konstantinov in the same class as me. [Former Storm great] Andy Suhy got drafted ahead of me that year. They ended up winning a lot of Cups. It just wasn't meant to be for me. I am disappointed. But the game has completely changed. I like to think I probably would have had a better chance of making it higher in today's game.”
The Blade: What do you remember most about those Riley Cup champion teams?
Judson: “It was special. I was part of a lot of great teams there. But it seemed like we were really close on those champion teams. We did everything together. That helps bring a lot of closeness. We had our struggles, but we turned it up at the end of the year. People recognized all of us. That's what happens when you win championships. It'd be standing-room-only at the Sports Arena, four deep in places. It was loud and just crazy. They had a parade for us, and that was awesome.”
The Blade: What was it like playing at the Sports Arena?
Judson: “You remember coming out of the locker room, walking through the crowd and the smell of cigarettes and whatever else. There was a haze over the ice, and then just the loudness and the interaction with the fans. It was a unique place to play, and that type of arena just doesn't exist anymore. You could score from anywhere, but you could hook, hold, and do a lot of things that would be called penalties now. You couldn't hide. You had to be able to play a physical game, whether it's take a hit or give hits.”
The Blade: Individually, what record means the most to you?
Judson: “They all mean a lot. But probably the goal-scoring one. I figure I played in the most games, so I probably should have some of the records. It's special to be recognized [in the halls of fame] with everybody that played here. I also got inducted into my college hall of fame, and there weren't a lot of hockey players in there. It means I made an impact, which makes it all worth it. That's something that I will always be able to have.”
The Blade: What makes Toledo such a great hockey town?
Judson: “I think it has to do with the proximity to the Wings, to Chicago, and Toronto. This town has had pro hockey going back to the [Mercurys in 1947]. The fans are passionate. It's been passed down from generation to generation. But Toledo is a great place for sports in general.”
First Published April 13, 2025, 1:30 p.m.
