Dustin Penner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname | The Large Human |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 4 in (1.94 m) 245 lb (111 kg) |
| NHL Team | Anaheim Ducks |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | September 28, 1982, Winkler MB, CAN |
| NHL Draft | undrafted |
| Pro Career | 2006 – present |
Dustin Penner (born September 28, 1982 in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada) is a professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Penner was never drafted, instead he was discovered and signed as a free agent by the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, after he played for the University of Maine in the NCAA.
Contents |
[edit] Minors
Dustin Penner began his career by playing on his highschool team, and had little hope of ever making it to the NHL. [1] After being cut by all local AAA and junior teams he tried out for, his cousin Darryl called him and offered him an opportunity to play at Minot State University-Bottineau, a junior college.
He agreed to play there, but his first year turned out to be a terrible one, as he broke his femur and did not return to play. The next year, in the 2001-02 season, he became a very important player for the club, scoring 20 goals with 13 assists in 23 games, also earning the Most Determined Player Award for his improvement and stellar play after recovering from a broken femur.
Penner then went to an evaluation camp at Saskatoon. He played well there, scoring an average of three points per game. There he was spotted by Grant Stanbrook, the assistant coach for the University of Maine. Grant offered Penner a scholarship, which he accepted. He did not play for the team that year, but joined them in all of their practices.
The following year, Penner helped the University of Maine Black Bears to the NCAA Championship game in the 2003-04 season, and scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals against Boston College. But, Maine then lost the championship title game to the University of Denver, 1-0.
After the loss, Penner was approached by David McNab, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim’s assistant general manager. He told Penner that he had a chance to play in the NHL. A month later, on May 12th, 2004, the Mighty Ducks signed him to a contract as a free agent.
He was assigned to play for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate at the time. He had a good year with Cincinnati, but when he was moved to play for the Portland Pirates, (the Ducks current AHL affiliate) he played much better; scoring 39 goals and 45 assists in 57 games, for a total of 84 points. [2] The Mighty Ducks took notice and called him up from the minors to finally play in the NHL on November 23, 2005.
[edit] Career
Dustin Penner played 19 games for the Mighty Ducks in the 2005-06 NHL Season, the first season of his career. He tallied four goals, three assists and seven points in total. But, he was sent down to play for the Ducks' current minor affiliate, the Portland Pirates, on and off during the regular season.
He was sent back and forth from the minors to the NHL [3], until finally being recalled to join Anaheim in their Stanley Cup efforts. Penner would score three goals, six assists, and nine points in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs until Anaheim was stopped short by the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Conference Finals.
The next year in the 2006-07 NHL Season, Penner had a breakout year, improving drastically. He remained on the roster of the newly-named Anaheim Ducks for the entire season; scoring 28 goals, 16 assists, and 44 points. He scored the second most goals on the team, only trailing Teemu Selanne. (Season not over)
Dustin Penner is known for his ability to hold on to the puck for long periods of time and muscle his way around and behind the net with his big size. He is also known well as a power forward and for being skilled at deflections, or deflecting the puck. [4]
[edit] Awards
- Most Determined Player Award - MSU-Bottineau - 2002
- NCAA All-Tournament Team - 2004
- Jack Semler Award, University of Maine (Most Improved Player) - 2004
[edit] Transactions
- May 12, 2004 - Signed as a free agent by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
[edit] Career Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2001-02 | MSU-Bottineau | NJCAA | 23 | 20 | 13 | 33 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Maine | NCAA | 43 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 52 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 77 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 82 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | ||
| 2005-06 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 57 | 39 | 45 | 84 | 68 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2005-06 | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | NHL | 19 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 2006-07* | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 79 | 28 | 16 | 44 | 58 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NCAA Totals | 70 | 31 | 35 | 56 | 52 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| AHL Totals | 134 | 49 | 63 | 112 | 150 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 13 | ||||
| NHL Totals | 98 | 32 | 19 | 51 | 72 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | ||||
*Season still in progress
[edit] External links
Categories: 1982 births | Anaheim Ducks players | Canadian ice hockey left wingers | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players | Ice hockey personnel from Manitoba | Living people | Maine Black Bears ice hockey players | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players | People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba | Portland Pirates players | Undrafted NHL players
