Chris Pronger

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Position	Defense
Shoots	Left
Nickname	Prongs
Height Weight	6 ft 5 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Anaheim Ducks Hartford Whalers St. Louis Blues Edmonton Oilers
Nationality	Canada
Born	October 10, 1974, Dryden, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	2nd overall, 1993 Hartford Whalers
Pro Career	1993 – present

Christopher Robert Pronger (born October 10, 1974, in Dryden, Ontario, Canada) is a professional hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks. He has received many awards during his career in the NHL.

1 Minor Hockey
2 Playing career
3 Movements
4 Awards
5 Records
6 Career statistics
7 International play
8 See also
9 External links
10 References

[edit] 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 Univeristy (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.

[edit] Playing career

After two outstanding seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, 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.^{[citation needed]}

In his third season with St. Louis, at age 23, Pronger was again named to the All-Star team. He also played for the Canadian Olympic team in Nagano. In 1999 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 clear cap space, 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 in 24 games.

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 ^[2], while media outlets ^[3]^[4] 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. ^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

Chris had 4 years left in a 5 year contract in Edmonton, and apparently quietly sold his house in Edmonton and left for vaction in Mexico in June of 2006 leaving his agent to announce his desire to be traded "for personal reasons". It is claimed that 2 weeks before the anouncement, his wife had seemed happy with Edmonton and the stabillity of staying there for years according to Hicks of the Edmonton Sun.^[10]

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, and Anaheim's 2008 second-round draft pick.

Pronger and his wife Lauren have two sons, Jack and George.

[edit] Movements

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, a 1st round pick in 2007, a conditional 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick in 2008.

[edit] 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
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

[edit] Records

First player to score on a penalty shot during a Stanley Cup Final game (2006 Game 1 at Carolina, opposing goaltender Cam Ward)

[edit] 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	22	5	16	21	26
NHL totals			802	106	350	456	1172	107	15	57	72	236

Statistics as of June 16, 2006

[edit] International play

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice hockey

Played for Canada in:

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992	Canada	WJC	7	1	3	4	6
1997	Canada	WC	9	0	2	2	10
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	32

[edit] See also

List of current NHL players

[edit] External links

Chris Pronger's statistics at tsn.ca
"Captain Crunch's Time Has Come", The Toronto Sun, February 1, 1998.

[edit] References

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 1997-2002	Succeeded by: Al MacInnis

EA Sports NHL Cover Athletes

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