Daniel Cleary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Dan, Clears
Height
Weight
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
211 lb (96 kg/15 st 1 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams
Detroit Red Wings
Phoenix Coyotes
Edmonton Oilers
Chicago Blackhawks
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born December 18, 1978 (1978-12-18) (age 29),
Carbonear, NL, CAN
NHL Draft 13th overall, 1997
Chicago Blackhawks
Pro career 1998 – present

Daniel (Danny) Cleary (born 18 December 1978 in Carbonear, Newfoundland) is a professional ice hockey winger playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. On June 4th, 2008, Cleary became the first player from Newfoundland and Labrador to get his name on the Stanley Cup when the Red Wings won hockey's top prize. He was selected in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, 13th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks. A common mistake made by announcers during NHL games is saying Cleary is from Carbonear, Newfoundland. Cleary was born in Carbonear, but he was raised in a nearby town called Harbour Grace, in a section of the town called Riverhead.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Cleary had a phenomenal junior career with the Belleville Bulls of the OHL which begun by scoring a hat trick in his very first game as an underage 16 year old. Although his performance tailed off in his draft year, Chicago still selected him midway through the first round. Just one year removed from junior, Cleary was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a package that landed Boris Mironov in Chicago.

Cleary played parts of four seasons in Edmonton. Cleary's $1 million contract was bought out by the Oilers in the summer of 2003. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to a much cheaper contract by the Phoenix Coyotes. He played in Sweden during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Following the lockout, Phoenix did not offer Cleary a qualifying contract. Cleary was invited to the Detroit Red Wings training camp, and he made the team.

During the 2006–07 NHL playoff quarterfinals against Calgary, Cleary successfully converted a penalty shot while shorthanded; this was the first time it had been done in Detroit during the playoffs. Cleary also stamped his name on the 2007 Western Conference Final against Anaheim by scoring a pair of goals and an assist in Game 4.

In 06–07 Cleary scored a career high 20 goals in 71 games. He repeated this accomplishment the next season, scoring 20 goals in 63 games.

On February 9, 2008, Cleary suffered a broken jaw which forced him to miss 19 games.

On March 11, 2008, Cleary signed a 5 year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings for US $14 million.[1]

On June 4, 2008, Cleary became the first Newfoundlander and Labradorian to win the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2 in the Stanley Cup finals.

[edit] Personal

He, and his wife Jelena, have a daughter, Elle.[2]

[edit] Awards

  • OHL First All-Star Team 1996, 1997
  • AHL Second All-Star Team 2000
  • Carhartt “Hardest Working” Player of the Month January 2008
  • 2007-08 - Stanley Cup

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Kingston OJHL 41 18 28 46 83 -- -- -- -- --
1994–95 Belleville Bulls OHL 62 26 55 81 62 16 7 10 17 23
1995–96 Belleville Bulls OHL 64 53 62 115 74 14 10 17 27 40
1996–97 Belleville Bulls OHL 64 32 48 80 88 6 3 4 7 6
1997–98 Belleville Bulls OHL 30 16 31 47 14 10 6 17 23 10
1997–98 Indianapolis Ice IHL 4 2 1 3 6 -- -- -- -- --
1997–98 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
1998–99 Portland Pirates AHL 30 9 17 26 74 -- -- -- -- --
1998–99 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 9 0 1 1 7 3 0 0 0 0
1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 35 4 5 9 24 -- -- -- -- --
1999–00 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 58 22 52 74 108 5 2 3 5 18
1999–00 Edmonton Oilers NHL 17 3 2 5 8 4 0 1 1 2
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81 14 21 35 37 6 1 1 2 8
2001–02 Edmonton Oilers NHL 65 10 19 29 51 -- -- -- -- --
2002–03 Edmonton Oilers NHL 57 4 13 17 31 -- -- -- -- --
2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 68 6 11 17 42 -- -- -- -- --
2004–05 Mora IK SEL 47 11 26 37 138 -- -- -- -- --
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 3 12 15 40 6 0 1 1 6
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 71 20 20 40 24 18 4 8 12 30
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 20 22 42 33 22 2 1 3 4
NHL Totals 540 84 125 209 290 56 7 12 19 50
OHL Totals 220 127 196 323 238 46 26 48 74 79

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Languages