Cliff Ronning

Last updated
Cliff Ronning
Cliff Ronning.jpg
Ronning in 2008
Born (1965-10-01) October 1, 1965 (age 58)
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
Phoenix Coyotes
Nashville Predators
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
New York Islanders
Asiago Hockey AS
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL draft 134th overall, 1984
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 19852004
Medal record
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1991 Finland

Clifford John Ronning (born October 1, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall. During a National Hockey League (NHL) career that spanned 18 years, Ronning played for the Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders.

Contents

Playing career

Ronning played minor hockey in Burnaby. He led his midget team to the 1982 Air Canada Cup, where they won the gold medal. Ronning was named Most Valuable player and led the tournament in scoring. Prior to being drafted, he played in the Western Hockey League for the New Westminster Bruins, displaying the same excellent scoring touch. In 1983–84, Ronning's draft year, he posted 136 points in 71 games, earning the Stewart "Butch" Paul Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year. Due to his small stature (Ronning was 5'8"), [1] he was not drafted until the seventh round, when the St. Louis Blues picked him 134th overall. The next season, he returned to New Westminster and accumulated an astonishing 197 points, establishing a WHL record (he was later surpassed by Rob Brown's 212-point season in 1986–87). [2] Accordingly, Ronning earned the WHL Most Valuable Player Award and the Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Recording just 20 penalty minutes, he was also named the Most Sportsmanlike Player.

After Ronning's record setting season, he joined the Canadian National Team, with whom he played for one and a half seasons. During this stint, Ronning made his first appearance in the NHL with the Blues, playing five games in the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ronning began the next season with the National Team again before joining the Blues for the remainder of 1986–87.

Ronning did not, however, find his full stride in St. Louis. He spent part of 1988–89 with the Blues' International Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, and played the entirety of the following season in Italy with HC Asiago. When he returned to the Blues in 1990–91, he was traded to his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, along with Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, and a fifth-round draft pick (Brian Loney) in exchange for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn.

Ronning quickly became a key element on the rapidly improving Canucks. In 1992–93, he posted a career-high 29 goals and 85 points. On April 15, 1993, in a game against the Los Angeles Kings, he nearly tied Bryan Trottier's record for most points in a single period, notching 3 goals and 2 assists in the third (Trottier had six). [3] The following season, Ronning helped the Canucks on their run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost in seven games to the New York Rangers. He played the seventh game with a broken hand. [4]

Spending another two seasons in Vancouver, Ronning became a free agent after the 1995–96 season and signed with the Phoenix Coyotes for their first season after moving from Winnipeg. Following just over two seasons in Phoenix, Ronning was dealt with Richard Lintner to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.

As he joined the Predators in their expansion year, he took on a leadership role with the fledgling Predators, who finished second-to-last in their first NHL season. In all four seasons with the Predators, Ronning led the team in scoring, twice exceeding 60 points. He played an important role in mentoring young players, such as David Legwand.

At the 2001–02 trade deadline, the Predators sent Ronning to the Los Angeles Kings, who expected him to help them in the playoffs. In the off-season, he was traded from Los Angeles to yet another recent expansion team, the Minnesota Wild in their third year. Ronning was a veteran presence and still an able scorer, recording 48 points, as the Wild reached the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In 2003–04, Ronning signed with the New York Islanders, mostly playing as a powerplay specialist, recording 24 points in 40 games played. As the NHL lockout suspended play, Ronning was inactive the following season. When the NHL resumed, Ronning announced his decision to retire on February 15, 2006. [1] Cliff Ronning was involved in two of the most notable games of Patrick Roy's career. He played against Roy in the 1982 Air Canada Cup midget tournament. Ronning's team beat Roy's Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs, and it was the last game of Roy's midget career. On April 22, 2003, Ronning played for the Minnesota Wild, and played in Roy's final NHL playoff game. [5]

Even though I was always one of the smallest kids on my hockey team growing up, I never stopped dreaming about playing in the NHL, so having the ability to live out that dream was unbelievable. I certainly hope that kids who are also small in stature but not in heart will look at me and other similar players and know that their dream can come true through hard work and dedication to the game.

Cliff Ronning [6]

Awards and achievements

Cliff Ronning skating with the greats Cliff Ronning2.jpg
Cliff Ronning skating with the greats

Records

Personal life

Ronning and his wife, Ivana have four children; three daughters Taryn, Kristin and Carly and one son, Ty. Ronning returned to live in Vancouver after his retirement. He plays with the Old-timers' Hockey Challenge [7] and coaches a spring hockey team, the Vancouver Selects. [8] Ronning has participated in the research and development of a better hockey stick. [9] In 2009, Cliff Ronning and Ron Kunisaki formed BASE Hockey Labs. President and Co-Founder Ron Kunisaki founded Innovative Hockey, Inc. in 1993 and built the industry's largest high-performance OEM supplier before selling to Warrior Hockey in 2005. Vice-President and Co-Founder Cliff Ronning heads up Base Hockey's Shooting Analysis and Custom Fitting protocol in Burnaby, British Columbia. [10]

His son Ty was drafted by the New York Rangers in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and as of 2024 plays as a forward for the Eisbären Berlin. [11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1982–83 New Westminster Royals BCHL 52836815122
1983–84 New Westminster Bruins WHL 7169671361098132110
1984–85 New Westminster BruinsWHL708910819720111014244
1985–86 Canada Intl71556311853
1985–86 St. Louis Blues NHL 51122
1986–87CanadaIntl2617163312
1986–87 St. Louis BluesNHL42111425640110
1987–88 St. Louis BluesNHL26581312
1988–89 St. Louis BluesNHL642431551871340
1988–89 Peoria Rivermen IHL 121120318
1989–90 HC Asiago ITA 366749113296712194
1990–91 St. Louis BluesNHL4814183210
1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL1166120663912
1991–92 Vancouver CanucksNHL80244771421385136
1992–93 Vancouver CanucksNHL79295685301229116
1993–94 Vancouver CanucksNHL7625436842245101516
1994–95 Vancouver CanucksNHL416192527113582
1995–96 Vancouver CanucksNHL792245674260226
1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL6919325126707712
1997–98 Phoenix CoyotesNHL801144553661344
1998–99 Phoenix CoyotesNHL72572
1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL7218355340
1999–2000 Nashville PredatorsNHL8226366234
2000–01 Nashville PredatorsNHL8019436228
2001–02 Nashville PredatorsNHL6718314924
2001–02 Los Angeles Kings NHL14145840112
2002–03 Minnesota Wild NHL8017314824172794
2003–04 New York Islanders NHL4091524240000
NHL totals1,13730656386945312629578672

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
1991 Canada WC Silver medal icon.svg101458
Senior totals101458

Transactions

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Cliff Ronning on Legends of Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame . Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  2. "CHL Record Book". Canadian Hockey League . Retrieved 2008-07-15.[ dead link ]
  3. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2003). NHL Official Guide & Record Book 2004. Toronto: Dan Diamond and Associates. p. 165.
  4. Yannis, Alex (1994-06-15). "Canucks Are Out of Step In Big Dance". The New York Times. p. B17.
  5. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.483 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN   978-0-470-15616-2
  6. "Cliff Ronning quotes". Thinkexits.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  7. "Player profile at Old-timers' Hockey Challenge". The Old-timers' Hockey Challenge. Archived from the original on 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  8. "Ronning big on new NHL". The Morning Star. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  9. "Flashback Feature: Where are they now? Cliff Ronning". NHL.com - Predators . Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  10. "Canucks Feature: Where are they now? Cliff Ronning". NHL.com - Canucks . Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  11. "Ty Ronning". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.