Ralph Announces Retirement

Former Union forward Jason Ralph, the captain of the Bloomington PrairieThunder, announced his retirement from hockey Tuesday to enter private business.

Ralph, who has appeared in all 17 PrairieThunder games this season, will return to Canada and work for his father's real estate company. He scored five goals with five assists for 10 points. He also had a plus-minus rating of plus-one. 

"I have mixed emotions, and it was a difficult decision, but I knew it was one I had to make," said Ralph, who told his teammates of the decision after practice. "It was hard because you create a certain bond and make a lot of friends among your teammates.

"It was hard stand up in front them and tell them I'm leaving because I feel like I'm letting the team down, but family is important to me and I know I'm doing the right thing for my families." 

Ralph said he has been working part-time in the real estate business the last four years.

"I've always known that was what I was going to do after hockey," said Ralph. "My dad is working toward retirement and goes to Florida for the winter. He needs somebody back home to look over things. I want him to retire and in helping him retire, I've helped myself retire from hockey. 

"It's a great opportunity for me in the business world and I wish the guys on the PrairieThunder nothing but the best. It's a great organization and the team is starting to really come together. I think they have a solid chance to win a championship."

Ralph had informed PrairieThunder coach Derek Booth of his decision in advance, so he could begin the process of filling the void on the roster.

"It's a big loss," said Booth, whose team has an 8-9-0-0 record and is tied with Kalamazoo for fourth place in the International Hockey League standings. "Any time you lose the captain of your team, it's tough. 

"But it's one of those things we have to deal with. We have to stay even keel with it. We want to wish Ralphie the best and hope when he gets into the real world things work out for him. We just have to keep moving forward."

Booth isn't sure if the PrairieThunder will be short a skater for this weekend's games at Flint on Friday and at U.S. Cellular Coliseum against Muskegon on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. 

"We have some irons in the fire, but nothing is for sure," said Booth. "We'll see what happens. We're always looking to improve the team and that's what we have to do. We have to keep searching for someone to replace him."

The 28-year-old Ralph was obtained by the PrairieThunder in the off-season through the IHL dispersal draft. Ralph helped lead the Rockford IceHogs to the United Hockey League championship last season. 

The 6-foot, 190-pound Ralph was in his seventh season at the professional level. He ends his career having played in 394 regular season games. He scored 110 goals with 158 assists for 268 points with 866 minutes of penalties.

Ralph, who hails from Carp, Ontario, played in postseason competition during five of his seven years. He saw action in 36 playoff games, scoring five goals with 19 assists for 24 points.