Rumun Ndur (born July 7, 1975) is a

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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. Ndur played in the

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) for the

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 ...

, the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, and the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. Ndur was the first Nigerian-born player to play in the NHL. He was born in

but grew up in

Hearst, Ontario Hearst is a town in the district of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mattawishkwia River in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately east of Thunder Bay along Highway 11. At Hearst, Highway 583 extend ...

Playing career

Ndur moved to Union, Ontario (near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) and played minor hockey for the St. Thomas Travelers. Ndur played for the Belmont Pests Jr.D. (1990–91) and Clearwater Steeplejacks Jr.C. (1991–92) clubs of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

. Ndur was drafted in the ninth round (129th overall) by the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

in the 1992

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) Priority Selection. He was drafted by the Sabres in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in the third round, 69th overall. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

he won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

. He made his NHL debut in 1996–97 with the Sabres. In 1998–99 he was traded to the New York Rangers and just a year later he was traded to Atlanta, and played 27 games with them during the

1999–2000 NHL season The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...

. Ndur played a total of 69 games in the NHL, scoring 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) with 137 penalty minutes. At the end of the 2005-06 season Ndur signed with

HK Jesenice Hokejski klub Acroni Jesenice (), commonly referred to as HK Acroni Jesenice or simply Jesenice, was a Slovenian ice hockey team from Jesenice that last played in the Austrian Erste Bank Hockey League and the Slovenian Ice Hockey League. They p ...

of the

Slovenian Ice Hockey League The Slovenian Hockey League () or the National Championship () is the highest level ice hockey league in Slovenia. The championship phase is contested after the regular season to determine the national champion. History The Slovenian Hockey Le ...

, thus becoming first African to play for a team in Slovenia. He played 14 games, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists and also amassing 79 penalty minutes. He had a memorable fight with Boštjan Groznik, a tough enforcer. That season Ndur won the

Slovenian Championship The Slovenian Hockey League () or the National Championship () is the highest level ice hockey league in Slovenia. The championship phase is contested after the regular season to determine the national champion. History The Slovenian Hockey Le ...

. With the

Coventry Blaze The Coventry Blaze are a British professional ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the original '' ...

Ndur played just two games of the 2007–08 season before suffering from a neck injury, ruling him out for the season. In May 2008, Ndur was released by Coventry. Ndur went on to sign with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...

of the EIHL for the 2008-09 season before returning to North America to sign with the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Trinity Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League fr ...

of the International Hockey League before retiring.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndur, Rumun 1975 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Black Canadian ice hockey players Black Canadian sportsmen Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Canadian ice hockey defencemen Columbus Cottonmouths (ECHL) players Coventry Blaze players Danbury Trashers players Graz 99ers players Guelph Storm players Hartford Wolf Pack players HK Acroni Jesenice players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kalamazoo Wings (UHL) players Muskegon Lumberjacks players New York Rangers players Nigerian emigrants to Canada Norfolk Admirals players Nottingham Panthers players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players People from Hearst, Ontario Rochester Americans players People from Zaria Tiv people Sportspeople from Kaduna State