Hrudey played junior hockey for three years with the Western Hockey LeagueMedicine Hat Tigers. He was drafted in the second round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Hrudey first played for the Indianapolis Checkers, New York'sminor league affiliate, and moved to the main club in the 1984–85 season. He was the Islanders' goaltender in 1987 when they defeated the Washington Capitals in the longest game in club history, a four-overtime Game 7 thriller known as the "Easter Epic", which was won on a goal by Pat LaFontaine after 68:47 of overtime. Hrudey made 73 saves in a 3–2 Islander victory that ended just before 2am on Easter morning. Later in 1987, he was the third string goaltender on Team Canada during the 1987 Canada Cup, but did not appear in a game. In 1989, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and would play there for eight seasons. His most notable achievement was playing in the 1993 Stanley Cup finals, but the team lost to Patrick Roy's Montreal Canadiens. In 1996, he signed with the San Jose Sharks and played his last two seasons there before retiring in 1998.
Broadcasting career
During the latter years of his playing career, he often joined Hockey Night in Canada as a studio analyst to supplement their playoff coverage if his team missed or is eliminated from Stanley Cup contention. After retiring, he joined the broadcast team full-time as an analyst. He was featured in the "Behind the Mask" segment with hosts Scott Russell and later Scott Oake during the first intermission of the second game of Saturday night doubleheaders. In 2007, Hrudey helped debut Hockey Night in Canada Radio. The show originating from Toronto with host Jeff Marek is a three-hour program dedicated to hockey. The show is broadcast on Sirius XM Channel 122 and 97. Hrudey co-hosts Monday and Wednesday from his home studio in Calgary. For the 2008–09 season, he began working alongside host Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman on HNIC's lead studio team. Hrudey also made a weekly appearance on the TSN 1040 in Vancouver with Rick Ball. With Rogers Media, the parent company of Sportsnet, gaining the sole national rights to the NHL beginning in the 2014-15 season, in August 2014, Hrudey joined Sportsnet full time to participate in their hockey coverage. In addition to his HNIC role, he along with Ball became the new announcers for the Calgary Flames regional broadcasts.
