Chris Pronger

Chris Pronger was born October 10th, 1974 in Dryden, Ontario, Canada. He has an older brother, Sean, who played 230 games in the NHL. Pronger currently lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey with his wife Lauren, and his three children. They have two sons, Jack and George, and one daughter, Lilah. Chris Pronger is and NHL defenseman, and currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

At 6'6", Pronger is known as a tough physical defenseman, who uses his long reach and smart play to be one of the best players in the league. Never one to shy away from confrontation, Pronger is known as much for throwing big hits as he is for being suspended for crossing the line. He's been suspended eight times, including an eight game suspension for stepping on the leg of Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks. In 2000, he won both the Hart Trophy, for most valuable player during the regular season, and the Norris Trophy for being the top defenseman. He won the Stanley Cup in 2007 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

Chris Pronger was drafted second overall (behind Alexandre Daigle) in the 1993 NHL draft by the Hartford Whalers (the Whalers relocated to Carolina in 1997). He made his NHL debut with the Whalers that same year, and achieved considerable success, including being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. However, he was probably better known for the trouble he got into, including an arrest for drunk driving. He only played for Hartford for two years, and was traded on July 27, 1995, to the St. Louis Blues for Brendan Shanahan.

Pronger played for the St. Louis for nine seasons, and was named captain of the Blues for the 1997 season. It was with St. Louis that Pronger built his reputation as a fearsome defender, including an impressive 180 penalties in minutes during the 97/98 season. Statistically, his best career best season was with the Blues during the 1999/2000 NHL season. He recorded career highs in both goals (14) and points (62) in that season, helping the Blues win the Presidents Trophy with 114 points and 51 points.

On August 2, 2005, the Blues sent Pronger to the Edmonton Oilers. He helped the team reach the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost, but Pronger scored the first penalty shot in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals.

After a single season in Edmonton, Pronger requested a trade, and was eventually traded to the Anaheim Ducks on July 3, 2006. He played in 66 games for the Ducks, scoring 59 points helping lead the team to the Stanley Cup finals, his second straight appearance. With 15 points in 18 playoff games, Pronger came out on the winning end of this appearance in the finals, winning the Stanley Cup. Pronger played two more season with Anaheim, including an impressive 2007/08 season where he wore the "C" as the Ducks captain, and posted an impressive 128 minutes in penalties.

For the 2009/10 season, Pronger joined the Philadelphia Flyers, who traded Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, two first round draft picks, and a conditional third round draft pick to get him. The Flyers opened the season with extremely high expectations, but rumors of infighting and a dysfunctional dressing room vibe threatened to scuttle their season. By mid-season the Flyers had fired their coach, and were looking like they might compete for last in the league. However, they managed to turn their season around, and qualified for the playoffs with a shootout win in their last regular season game. Pronger scored 18 points in 23 playoff games, as the Flyers went on a magical playoff run, becoming only the third team in NHL history to win a series after being down 3-0 to Boston. They took the Chicago Blackhawks to game 6 in the Stanley Cup finals, but were not able to bring the Stanley Cup to the City of Brotherly Love.

• 1993: Max Kaminsky Trophy, OHL's best defenseman
• 1993: CHL's best defenseman
• 1993: World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, gold medal
• 1994: NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1997: World Ice Hockey Championships, gold medal
• 1998: NHL All-Star Game
• 1998: Bud Light Plus/Minus Award
• 1999: NHL All-Star Game
• 2000: NHL All-Star Game
• 2000: James Norris Trophy, NHL's best defenseman
• 2000: Bud Light Plus/Minus Award
• 2000: Hart Memorial Trophy, MVP of the NHL
• 2001: NHL All-Star Game
• 2002: Winter Olympics, gold medal
• 2002: NHL All-Star Game
• 2004: NHL All-Star Game
• 2007: NHL All-Star Game
• 2007: Stanley Cup Championship
• 2008: NHL All-Star Game
• 2010: Winter Olympics, gold medal

Chris Pronger has represented Team Canada at four separate Winter Olympics from 1998 to 2010. He won gold with Canada in both 2002 and 2010. He has also won gold with Canada in both the World Championships and the World Juniors.