Daniel Cleary

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.
== 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. 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.
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. 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.Greely's Reel Band Website
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	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	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	NHL totals 	NHL totals		746 	139 	190 	329 	385 		102 	20 	22 	42 	72
OHL totals	OHL totals 	OHL totals		220 	127 	196 	323 	238 		46 	26 	48 	74 	79
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
== References ==
== External links ==
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Category:Born in 1978
Category:Belleville Bulls alumni
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Category:Chicago Blackhawks players
Category:Detroit Red Wings players
Category:Edmonton Oilers players
Category:Hamilton Bulldogs players
Category:Indianapolis Ice players
Category:Mora IK players
Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks
Category:Phoenix Coyotes players
Category:Portland Pirates players
Category:Stanley Cup champions