Robert Wade Niedermayer Jr. (born December 28, 1974) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who played 17

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) seasons for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

, and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

. He is the younger brother of former NHL

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Scott Niedermayer Scott Niedermayer (born August 31, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current special assignment coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Dev ...

(the two were teammates for four seasons). Born in

Cassiar, British Columbia Cassiar is a ghost town in British Columbia, Canada. It was a small company-owned asbestos mining town located in the Cassiar Mountains of Northern British Columbia north of Dease Lake. History The discovery of asbestos in the area in 1950 l ...

, he and his brother Scott grew up in Cranbrook.

Playing career

Niedermayer was drafted fifth overall by the

in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, he was playing for the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL). He began his NHL career immediately following his draft, without playing a game in the minors. During the 1995–96 season, he set career highs in goals, assists and points in the regular season. In the

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 16, 1996. The playoffs ended on June 10, 1996, with the Colorado Avalanche sweeping the Florida Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup i ...

, the Panthers went on an improbable playoff drive to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

before being swept in four games by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. 1998-99 was his best season, putting up 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points; however, Niedermayer was hurt by concussions in the next years and was never able to achieve the same level of scoring ability again. His NHL role soon turned into a defensive forward. On July 23, 2001, Niedermayer was traded to the

(alongside a draft pick) in exchange for

Valeri Bure Valeri Vladimirovich "Val" Bure ( ; rus, Валерий Владимирович Буре, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj bʊˈrɛ; born June 13, 1974) is a Russian–American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played 10 seasons in the Natio ...

and

Jason Wiemer Jason Earl Wiemer (born April 14, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played for 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Wiemer was drafted 12th overall in the 1991 WHL Bantam Draft by the Portla ...

. At the 2003

NHL trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

, he was sent to the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

. That same year, he helped the Anaheim Ducks make an improbable run to the

, his second such run. But again, Niedermayer's team lost, although this time it was in seven games to his brother's team, the

. He and Scott became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals since Ken and

Terry Reardon Terrance George Reardon (April 6, 1919 – February 14, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey centre and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens between 1939 and 1947 Reardon played 197 games in ...

did it in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

. In the summer of 2005, Rob's brother Scott was signed by the Mighty Ducks, and for the first time in their NHL careers, the two brothers were playing on the same team. He and his brother Scott (by this point captain of the Ducks, with Rob as an alternate) won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

together as members of the Anaheim Ducks after defeating the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

four games to one in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, becoming the first brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Duane and

Brent Sutter Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL entry draft, Sut ...

accomplished the feat twice with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

in 1982 and 1983. After Scott took the first lap around the ice with the Stanley Cup, he handed it to Rob. This was a break with Stanley Cup tradition; normally, the alternate captain who has waited longest to win the Cup (in the 2006–07 Ducks' case,

Chris Pronger Christopher Robert Pronger ( or ; born October 10, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player for the 1999–2000 season and was inducted to the Hockey Hall o ...

and

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winn ...

) takes the next lap after the captain takes his lap. On September 25, 2009, Niedermayer was signed by the New Jersey Devils, a team his brother Scott played on for 14 NHL seasons. On July 7, 2010, Niedermayer was signed by the

to a one-year contract worth a reported $1.15 million. After becoming a free agent following the 2011 season, Niedermayer signed with

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

Personal

On July 16, 2006, Niedermayer married longtime girlfriend Jessica Bentall, daughter of Barney Bentall, whom he had been dating since March 2001. Together, they have three daughters. Niedermayer was a minority owner of major junior club the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and playing its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise, ...

in the WHL for 18 years before selling his stake (along with brother Scott) to the Chynoweth family after the 2015–16 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

Transactions

* June 26, 1993 – drafted by the

in the first round, fifth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft * June 23, 2001 – traded to the

with a 2001 second round draft pick ( Andrei Medvedev) for

and

* March 11, 2003 – traded to the

for

Jean-François Damphousse Jean-François Damphousse (born July 21, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played six games in the National Hockey League with the New Jersey Devils during the 2001–02 season. The rest of his career, which laste ...

and

Mike Commodore Michael W. Commodore (born November 7, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Commodore played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2006, he won the Stanley Cup as part of the Carolina Hurricanes. Comm ...

* September 25, 2009 – signed by the

as an unrestricted free agent * July 7, 2010 – signed by the

as an unrestricted free agent

References

* ''2005 NHL Official Guide & Record Book'';

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niedermayer, Rob 1974 births Living people Anaheim Ducks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Buffalo Sabres players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey forwards Canadian people of German descent Ferencvárosi TC (ice hockey) players Florida Panthers draft picks Florida Panthers players HC Lugano players Medicine Hat Tigers players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players NHL first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils players Ice hockey people from Cranbrook, British Columbia Stanley Cup champions Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland