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Chris Pronger
Christopher Robert Pronger (born October 10, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. 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 won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in the 1999-2000 season and was the first defenceman to win the award since Bobby Orr in 1972. He was also the cover athlete for NHL Hitz 20-03 and EA Sports NHL 2000.
Minor hockeyBefore entering the Junior ranks in Ontario, Pronger grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Dryden, Ontario. 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 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 careerAfter 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, behind Alexandre Daigle. Daigle stated the infamous comment, "I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two."[1] Daigle is now considered to be one of the biggest draft busts in sports history.[2][3] 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.[4] After a second season in Hartford, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for star forward Brendan Shanahan on July 27, 1995. 
Chris Pronger with Anaheim 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 a brief cardiac arrest during the 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was hit in the chest with a puck in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.[5] Prior to this he played for the Canadian Olympic team in Nagano. In 1999-2000, Pronger recorded a career-high 62 points and a +52 rating. His efforts culminated in a Norris and Hart Trophy at the end of the season. Pronger beat Art Ross winner Jaromir Jagr by just one point in Hart Trophy voting, which was, at the time, the smallest margin of victory in the history of the award (Two years later, Jarome Iginla and Jose Theodore tied in overall voting; Theodore won with more first-place votes)[6]. Pronger was also named to the First 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 game seven, 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,[7] while media outlets[8][9] 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.[10][11][12][13] 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 (traded to the Phoenix Coyotes, picked Nick Ross), a conditional first-round draft pick (dependent on the Ducks reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in the next 3 years)[14], 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 won the championship. It was also Pronger's second straight finals appearance. During the Conference Finals, Pronger was suspended for one game for a check on Detroit Red Wings winger Tomas Holmstrom.[15] He later criticized the Canadian media's coverage of the incident.[16] In the final round, Pronger was suspended for one game for elbowing Ottawa Senators winger Dean McAmmond in the head during game 3[17]. 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.[18][19] Although Niedermayer returned to the lineup later in the season, Pronger remained captain. On March 12, 2008 Pronger was involved in a incident with Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. Pronger, after being tangled up with Kesler behind the Anaheim blue line, stomped unnecessarily on Kesler's leg. Kesler was not injured, and upon initial review the NHL did not suspend Pronger. However, upon new video evidence, which provided a better angle, the league once again reviewed the incident and gave Pronger an 8 game suspension. He returned to the ice April 6 against the Phoenix Coyotes in Anaheim's last regular season game of the year. [20] Chris Pronger is one of four currently active NHL players to be a captain of two different NHL teams, both the St. Louis Blues and the Anaheim Ducks. The active players who share this honor with Pronger are Jason Smith, Michael Peca and Chris Chelios. On October 7, 2008 Pronger was replaced as Ducks captain by Scott Niedermayer and returned to his 2006-07 role of alternate captain. Personal lifePronger's mother Eila is Finnish.[21] He and his wife Lauren have two sons, Jack and George, and one daughter, Lilah and have recently purchased a home in Irvine, California. [22] Transactions
Awards
Career statistics
International play
Played for Canada in:
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See alsoNotesExternal links
de:Chris Pronger fr:Chris Pronger lv:Kriss Prongers sk:Chris Pronger sl:Chris Pronger fi:Chris Pronger sv:Chris Pronger Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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