Daniel Cleary : biography
Daniel Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Cleary is currently an unrestricted free agent. 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, thirteenth-overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Youth
Cleary was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, the location of the area’s only hospital, and was raised in Harbour Grace, in a section of the town called Riverhead. 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 eleventh-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 in September 1994. Coincidentally, Cleary scored that hat trick against the Guelph Storm and current Red Wings teammate, Todd Bertuzzi. Although his performance tailed off in his draft year, Chicago still selected him midway through the first round in the draft.
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)
International play
Cleary played for Team Canada at the 2002 IIHF World Championship, scoring two goals and three points in a disappointing sixth-place finish, which was Canada’s fifth straight World Championship without a gold medal.
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 |
2011–12 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 75 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2012–13 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
NHL totals | 869 | 160 | 217 | 377 | 455 | 121 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 76 |