Chris Pronger

Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg/16 st)
NHL Team F. Teams	Anaheim Ducks Hartford Whalers St. Louis Blues Edmonton Oilers
Nationality	Canada
Born	October 10 1974 (1974-10-10) (age 33), Dryden, ON
NHL Draft	2nd overall, 1993 Hartford Whalers
Pro Career	1993 – present

Christopher Robert Pronger (born October 10, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the NHL's Anaheim Ducks. Chris was originally selected 2nd overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and played for them from 1993–95, followed by the St. Louis Blues (from 1995–2004), and the Edmonton Oilers (from 2005–06). He was also the cover athlete for NHL Hitz 20-03 and EA Sports NHL 2000.

Contents 1 Minor hockey 2 Playing career 3 Personal life 4 Transactions 5 Awards 6 Career statistics 7 International play 7.1 International statistics 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links

Minor hockey

Before entering the Junior ranks in Ontario, Pronger grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Dryden, ON. As a 15-year old, he was identified through the Ontario U-17 program and signed with the Stratford Cullitons Jr.B. (OHA) club for the 1990-91 season. In May of 1991, Pronger indicated he was going to join his older brother, Sean, at Bowling Green State University (NCAA) instead of opting for the OHL. Regardless of his pre-draft indications, Pronger was selected in the 6th round by the Peterborough Petes in the OHL Priority Selection. He subsequently reported to the Petes and played two years in the OHL before being selected in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

After two outstanding seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, and because of being highly regarded for his outstanding speed as a defenseman, Pronger was selected second overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut in the 1993-94 NHL season, playing 81 games for the Whalers and earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team. However, Pronger was arrested for drunk driving, involved in a barroom brawl, and was considered by some to be impatient and immature.^[1] After a second season in Hartford, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for star forward Brendan Shanahan on July 27, 1995.

In the early years of his St. Louis career, Pronger played under coach and general manager Mike Keenan. Keenan's guidance is often cited as a factor in Pronger's maturation. He would eventually also become the team's captain, from 1997-2003. In his third season with St. Louis, at age 23, Pronger was again named to the All-Star team. That year Pronger also had an acute heart attack during the 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was hit in the chest with a puck in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.^[2] Despite this he recovered and also played for the Canadian Olympic team in Nagano. In 1999-2000, Pronger recorded a career-high 62 points and a +52 rating. For his efforts, he won the Norris Trophy, the Hart Trophy, and was named to the All-Star team. Pronger notched 47 points the next season, but appeared in only 51 games due to injury problems. In February 2002, he won a gold medal with the Canadian Olympic Team in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. That same year in the NHL, he had another fine season and played in the All-Star Game once again. But injuries became a problem again in 2002-03, limiting him to just five games played. Pronger bounced back with another quality season in 2003-04. Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout and imposition of the NHL salary cap, the Blues traded Pronger to the Edmonton Oilers for defensemen Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch. While the Blues needed to reduce team salaries to make it easier to sell the team, the Oilers were able to sign Pronger to a five-year, $31.25 million contract. Pronger was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics, marking his third consecutive Olympic Games. The Oilers went to the Stanley Cup Final that same year. On June 5, 2006, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, Pronger became the first player in NHL history to score a penalty shot goal in a Stanley Cup Final game. The Oilers lost in seven games, with Pronger scoring a team-leading 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists) in 24 games, as well as a team leading plus/minus rating of +10 during the playoffs. On June 23, 2006, Pronger requested a trade through his agent, Pat Morris, from the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe said that the request was due to personal reasons,^[3] while media outlets^[4][5] reported that Pronger's wife, Lauren, was not happy in Edmonton. The controversy surrounding Pronger's trade request has led many to describe him as "Public Enemy No.1" in Edmonton.^[6][7][8][9] On July 3, Pronger was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Joffrey Lupul, defensive prospect Ladislav Smid, Anaheim's 2007 first-round draft pick, a conditional first-round draft pick (dependant on the Ducks reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in the next 3 years)^[10], and Anaheim's 2008 second-round draft pick. In 2007, Pronger played an important role for the Ducks run as they reached the Stanley Cup Finals and later winning the championship, while Pronger himself participates in the Finals for the second year in a row. During the Conference Finals, Pronger was suspended for one game for a check on Detroit Red Wings winger Tomas Holmstrom.^[11] He later criticized the Canadian media's coverage of the incident.^[12] In the final round, Pronger was suspended for one game for elbowing Ottawa Senators winger Dean McAmmond in the head during game 3^[13]. With the Stanley Cup victory he became a member of the Triple Gold Club. On September 28th, 2007, Pronger was named the captain of the Ducks, replacing Scott Niedermayer.^[14][15]

Personal life

Pronger's mother Eila is Finnish.^[16] He and his wife Lauren have two sons, Jack and George.

Transactions

• June 26, 1993 - Drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the 1st round, 2nd overall.
• July 27, 1995 - Traded to the St. Louis Blues for Brendan Shanahan.
• August 3, 2005 - Traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch.
• July 3, 2006 - Traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, 1st round pick in 2007, 1st round pick in 2008, and 2nd round pick in 2008

Awards

• OHL First All-Star Team - 1993
• Max Kaminsky Trophy - 1993
• CHL Plus/Minus Award - 1993
• CHL Best Defenseman - 1993
• NHL All-Rookie Team - 1994
• Bud Light Plus/Minus Award - 1998, 2000
• NHL Second All-Star Team - 1998, 2004, 2007
• Played in NHL All-Star Game - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
• NHL First All-Star Team - 2000
• James Norris Memorial Trophy - 2000
• Hart Trophy - 2000
• Stanley Cup - 2007

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991-92	Peterborough Petes	OHL		63	17	45	62	90		10	1	8	9	28
1992-93	Peterborough Petes	OHL		61	15	62	77	108		21	15	25	40	51
1993-94	Hartford Whalers	NHL		81	5	25	30	113		--	--	--	--	--
1994-95	Hartford Whalers	NHL		43	5	9	14	54		--	--	--	--	--
1995-96	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78	7	18	25	110		13	1	5	6	16
1996-97	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	11	24	35	143		6	1	1	2	22
1997-98	St. Louis Blues	NHL		81	9	27	36	180		10	1	9	10	26
1998-99	St. Louis Blues	NHL		67	13	33	46	113		13	1	4	5	28
1999-00	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	14	48	62	92		7	3	4	7	32
2000-01	St. Louis Blues	NHL		51	9	39	47	75		15	1	7	8	32
2001-02	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78	7	40	47	120		9	1	7	8	24
2002-03	St. Louis Blues	NHL		5	1	3	4	10		7	1	3	4	14
2003-04	St. Louis Blues	NHL		80	14	40	54	88		5	0	1	1	16
2005-06	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	12	44	56	74		24	5	16	21	26
2006-07	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		66	13	46	59	69		18	3	12	14	26
NHL totals				868	119	396	515	1241		127	18	69	87	262

Statistics as of June 3, 2007

International play

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Men's Ice Hockey
Olympic Games
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice Hockey
World Championships
Gold	1997 Finland	Ice Hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	1993 Sweden	Ice Hockey

Played for Canada in:

• 1993 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
• 1997 World Championships (gold medal)
• 1998 Winter Olympics
• 2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
• 2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Canada	WJC		7	1	3	4	6
1997	Canada	WC		9	0	2	2	12
1998	Canada	Oly		6	0	0	0	4
2002	Canada	Oly		6	0	1	1	2
2006	Canada	Oly		6	1	2	3	16
Senior int'l totals				27	1	5	6	34

See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of St. Louis Blues players

Notes

External links

• Chris Pronger's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Chris Pronger at TSN.ca
• "Captain Crunch's Time Has Come", The Toronto Sun, February 1, 1998.

Preceded by Jaromir Jagr	Hart Trophy Winner 2000	Succeeded by Joe Sakic
Preceded by Al MacInnis	Norris Trophy Winner 2000	Succeeded by Nicklas Lidstrom
Preceded by John LeClair	Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award 2000	Succeeded by Joe Sakic and Patrik Elias
Preceded by John LeClair	Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award 1998	Succeeded by John LeClair
Preceded by Wayne Gretzky	St. Louis Blues captains 1997-2003 Al MacInnis, 2002-03	Succeeded by Al MacInnis
Preceded by Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim Ducks captains 2007 – present	Incumbent

•  • e New England Whalers/Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes first-round draft picks
Whalers (WHA): Goldup • Dunlop • T. Young • McDonald Whalers (NHL): Allison • Arthur • Francis • Lawless • Turgeon • Cote • Murzyn • S. Young • Hull • Govedaris • Holik • Grieg • Poulin • Petrovicky • Pronger • O'Neill • Giguere Hurricanes: Tselios • Heerema • Tanabe • Knyazev • Ward • Staal • Ladd • Johnson • Sutter

•  • e EA Sports NHL Cover Athletes

'93: Randy Moller & Mike Richter • '94: Ray Bourque, Clark Donatelli, Andy Moog & Tomas Sandström • '95: Kirk McLean& Alexei Kovalev • '96: Scott Stevens & Steve Yzerman • '97: John Vanbiesbrouck • '98: Peter Forsberg • '99: Eric Lindros • '00: Chris Pronger • '01: Owen Nolan • '02: Mario Lemieux • '03: Jarome Iginla • '04: Dany Heatley • '04: Joe Sakic • '05: Markus Näslund • '06: Vincent Lecavalier • '07: Alexander Ovechkin • '08: Eric Staal

Persondata
NAME	Pronger, Christopher Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pronger, Chris
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Canadian ice hockey defenseman
DATE OF BIRTH	October 10, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dryden, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH