Born in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Nyrop, served as U.S. Administrator of Civil Aeronautics and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board under President Harry S. Truman in the early 1950s. Donald Nyrop moved his family to Edina, Minnesota, where he served as president, CEO and chairman of the board of Northwest Airlines from 1954–1976. As a boy, Nyrop attended Edina High School, where he was an all-star athlete, playing quarterback for an undefeated football team and leading the hockey team to the state title in 1969. After graduation from high school in 1970, Nyrop attended the University of Notre Dame. He tried out for the Notre Dame football team in 1971 and won a spot on the roster as the backup quarterback. However, he was injured in practice and never played for the team, instead playing hockey during his four years in college. After his sophomore year with the Fighting Irish in 1971–72, Nyrop was selected 66th overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. He attended his first pro training campin September 1972, and in 1973 he was voted on to the WCHA first all-star team and the NCAA west first all-American team. The next year, he represented the United States at the "B" Pool Ice Hockey World Championship where he was named to the tournament All-Star team as the best defenseman.
Pro career
During his first pro season with the American Hockey League's Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1974–75, Nyrop played with the stability of a seasoned veteran. He made his National Hockey League debut the next year on February 22, 1976 with the Montreal Canadiens, dressing for 19 games and became a regular on defense in the playoffs as the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup. Later that year Nyrop scored two points in five games and was stalwart on the defense as team captain for the United States team at the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup. Nyrop spent two years on the Montreal defense and helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 1977 and 1978. After the 1977–78 season, Nyrop stepped away from the game to study law. His rights were traded by the Canadiens to the Minnesota North Stars in September 1980 and he returned to the NHL a year later. He dressed for 42 regular season games with the Stars and two post-season contests in which his team was upset by Chicago in the first round. Nyrop also played briefly for Kölner Haie of the German league in 1982–83 before retiring for good.
