BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

Ron Serafini played in the NHL long before California had the Kings, Sharks and Ducks.
A Detroit native now living in Clarkston, Serafini spent two games with the old California Golden Seals and later played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association.
He was chosen by the Golden Seals 50th overall in the 1973 NHL Draft.
“I grew up skating on streets in Detroit when they would freeze,” said Serafini, who turned 67 on Oct. 31. “Our neighbors used to tell my mom and dad to get me off the streets because they thought I was going to get run over. So my dad decided to get me involved and he got me involved with the Detroit Roostertails back in the 1960s and it just so happened that Mark and Marty Howe (sons of NHL and Detroit Red Wings legend) and (former Red Wings goalie) Terry Sawchuk’s son used to play there. That when I was five or six and until I was 16 or 17, I played with the Howe boys.”
As he progressed in the game, NHL scouts took notice of Serafini, but he admitted he didn’t take hockey seriously.
“Honestly, I never thought my talent would take me anywhere,” Serafini said. “I just went out there and I just loved the game. I gave it my all and then at 15 years old, all the scouts were approaching me to play in Canada. My father decided it would be a good move for me to go play in the OHA (Ontario Hockey Association), and I wound up with the St. Catherines Black Hawks, where (NHL legend) Marcel Dionne played. I was out there playing with guys like Bob Gainey – these guys are hall of famers – and I’m on the ice with these guys.
“It was quite the treat. Sometimes, I sit back and go, ‘Really?’ Even when I turned pro, I played against Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich, even a young Wayne Gretzky, but a lot of the guys were older than me, and when I was 10 or 12 years old, these guys were my heroes. And, I got to play with them.”
When Serafini cracked the Golden Seals’ lineup in the 1973-74 season, he said he learned it was “tough to play in the NHL.”

“Every parent wants their kid to play hockey,” Serafini said. “The amount of players that make it to the NHL is very minute, though. What did I feel when I made it to the NHL? I thought I was very lucky to make it. I worked hard, but maybe not as hard as I should have. I could have played anywhere; I had the talent, you know? I guess you could say my mind was other places and I was just visiting the NHL.”
Serafini later played in the now-defunct Central Hockey League and Southern Hockey League before hanging up the skates after the 1976-77 season.
Serafini later coached youth hockey in Salt Lake City.
He said getting the chance to not only play with and against Gordie Howe – and fight him at one point during a WHA game – is something not many people can say they’ve done.
“I used to stay at his house and his kids used to stay at my house,” said Serafini. “I knew Gordie up until the day he passed away (June 10, 2016). I consider him a close friend and Mark, Marty, Murray and Cathy are also close friends of mine. Gordie is my idol and was like a second father to me. And I got to play with him and against him.”
These days, Serafini works as a real estate agent across Oakland County but with his home base in Clarkston. He has a daughter, Victoria, who lives locally and “she gave me three gorgeous grandsons,” said Serafini.
Serafini has been a licensed realtor for 29 years, getting into the business when he moved back to Michigan from Park City, Utah, to care for his mother.
He said Clarkston is a very prestigious place to live for a number of reasons.
“There are a lot of young families, it’s safe, it’s a great community, and we have I-75, so people that work downtown or over in Rochester can get where they need to go,” Serafini said. “It’s a great area.
“And people are good to me in Clarkston. Many are very nice and there are a lot of good people there. My life is day to day, and I enjoy it. No pressure. I finally got there. Go figure. My whole life has been a fight, but living here and working in real estate has been great.
“I guess that’s why I live here.”