- Daniel Cleary
-
Daniel Cleary 
Born December 18, 1978
Carbonear, NL, CANHeight 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight 208 lb (94 kg; 14 st 12 lb) Position Right/left wing Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsDetroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix CoyotesNational team 
CanadaNHL Draft 13th overall, 1997
Chicago BlackhawksPlaying career 1998–present Daniel Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. On June 4, 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, as this was/is the location of the area's only hospital, but he was raised in a nearby town called Harbour Grace, in a section of the town called Riverhead.
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Playing career
After playing minor hockey in his home area of Harbour Grace, Cleary left home at age 15 to play for the Kingston (ON) Voyageurs of the Metro Junior Hockey League (OHA). He scored 46 points in 41 games with the V's that season and subsequently was selected 11th overall in the 1994 OHL Priority Selection by the Belleville Bulls.
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. Coincidentally, Cleary scored that hat trick against the Guelph Storm and current Red Wings teammate, Todd Bertuzzi in September 1994.
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, together with his former Edmonton teammate and friend Shawn Horcoff, for Mora IK of Elitserien 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, making the team out of camp and signing to a one-year contract with the Red Wings on October 4, 2005.[1] In the 2005–06 season, Cleary established himself as a dependable role player as a defensive forward.
In the 2006–07 season given an expanded role with the Wings, Cleary scored a career high 20 goals in 71 games. 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.
In the 2007–08 season, Cleary repeated the accomplishment of scoring 20 goals in the regular season. 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, worth $14 million.[2]
On June 4, 2008, Cleary won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2 in the Stanley Cup finals, becoming the first Newfoundlander to do so.
On June 30, 2008, Cleary brought the Stanley Cup home to Newfoundland. A packed lobby welcomed Cleary at the St. John's International Airport. Later that day, Cleary brought the Cup to the Janeway Children's Hospital.[3] On July 1, 2008, Cleary brought the Stanley Cup back to his hometown Harbour Grace, Newfoundland for a Canada Day celebration that included a parade and a concert. The event attracted an estimated 27,000 people. The event also attracted an estimated 103 individual media accreditations with media from across Canada and the United States landing in Harbour Grace to cover Dan Cleary's story.
The Newfoundland bluegrass/folk band Greeley's Reel (http://www.greeleysreel.com) recorded a "hockey anthem" version of their song "Come In" about Cleary after the win. The refrain specifically highlights the celebration that would occur "when Danny Cleary brings the Stanley Cup to Newfoundland." In addition to receiving extensive local radio airplay, the song appeared on CBC Television and a Fox Sports Detroit special.[4]
In the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs on May 14, 2009, Cleary scored the tie breaking, Western Conference semi-final series winning goal for the Detroit Red Wings against the Anaheim Ducks with 3 minutes left in Game 7. With the win the Red Wings moved on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final. Cleary scored 5 goals against his former team in a 4-1 series win clinching the Western Conference title before succumbing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games in a rematch of the previous Stanley Cup finals.
Awards and achievements
- OHL First All-Star Team — 1996, 1997
- AHL Second All-Star Team — 2000
- Carhartt “Hardest Working” Player of the Month — January 2008
- NHL Stanley Cup — 2008 (Detroit)
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 2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 14 26 40 46 23 9 6 15 12 2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 15 19 34 29 12 2 0 2 4 2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 26 20 46 20 11 2 4 6 6 NHL totals 746 139 190 329 385 102 20 22 42 72 OHL totals 220 127 196 323 238 46 26 48 74 79 References
- ^ "Cleary signs, final roster set for opener". redwings.nhl.com. 2005-10-04. http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=320672&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ "Cleary earns new five-year deal". redwings.nhl.com. 2008-03-11. http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=356582. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Danny Cleary brings Stanley Cup home to N.L.". http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080630/stanley_cleary_080630/20080630?hub=TopStories. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Greely's Reel Band Website. http://greeleysreel.com/ title=Greely's Reel on Dan Cleary. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
External links
Preceded by
Dmitri NabokovChicago Blackhawks first round draft pick
1997Succeeded by
Ty JonesCategories:- 1978 births
- Belleville Bulls alumni
- Canadian ice hockey right wingers
- Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Edmonton Oilers players
- Hamilton Bulldogs players
- Ice hockey
- Ice hockey people from Newfoundland and Labrador
- Indianapolis Ice players
- Living people
- Mora IK players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Sportspeople from Newfoundland and Labrador
- People from Carbonear
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- Portland Pirates players
- Stanley Cup champions
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