Ryane Clowe (born September 30, 1982) is a

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 ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who 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) with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

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

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 ...

. He was drafted into the NHL by the San Jose Sharks in the sixth round, 175th overall, at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. In 2018, he was named the head coach of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Newfoundland Growlers The Newfoundland Growlers were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League, ECHL based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the 2018–19 ECHL season, 2018–19 season with home games ...

, a position he resigned from in January 2019. He was a hockey advisor for the

from 2021-22 to the 2023-24 season. On July 3, 2024 Clowe was named assistant general manager of the

Playing career

Professional

Having been drafted by the NHL's

in the sixth round, 177th overall, of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Clowe played two full seasons with the Cleveland Barons, San Jose's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, and was named team

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

in 2004–05, before splitting time between the Barons and the Sharks in 2005–06. Clowe appeared in 18 games with the Sharks in the 2005–06 season. In the subsequent off-season, he signed a new three-year contract worth $1.625 million; the contract was a two-way deal for two of its first three years. Clowe08 retouched

Approximately halfway through the first season of the contract, in 2006–07, Clowe was given an opportunity to play on the Sharks' first line and power play unit alongside

Patrick Marleau Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the List of NHL players with 1,000 games played#1,500 or more games played, all-time l ...

and

Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

, where he responded with a career-high 34 points in 58 games. He scored his first career NHL

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

on January 6, 2007, in a game against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. In the

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, se ...

, he scored his first

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

goal on April 13 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals series against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

. Securing his roster spot on the Sharks, he became known for his hard-checking game and willingness to

fight Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

when needed. Clowe played 11 games for the Sharks in 2007–08, then went on injured reserve on October 28, 2007, due to torn knee

ligaments A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have ligam ...

. He returned to the lineup on March 30, 2008, in time for the 2008 playoffs, during which he recorded 9 points in 13 games, which was second-best on the team behind only Joe Thornton. On July 6, 2009, Clowe signed a new four-year contract that paid him $3.5 million in each of his first three years and $4 million in his final year. On April 5, 2012, Clowe reached out from the bench with his stick to illegally interfere with

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

centreman

Jarret Stoll Jarret Lee Stoll (born June 24, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. Stoll is a two-time Stanle ...

. The Sharks went on to win the game 6–5 in a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

. Although review deemed the move illegal, there was no supplemental discipline by the NHL. On November 6, 2012, during the

2012–13 NHL lockout 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

, Clowe signed with the

San Francisco Bulls The San Francisco Bulls were a professional minor ice hockey team of the ECHL located in Daly City, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area market. They were an affiliate to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League and the Worcest ...

of the

. On February 22, 2013, during a game against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

, Clowe left the bench to start a fight with Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw. Clowe was assessed a minor penalty for roughing and a game misconduct for leaving the bench on an illegal line change to start a fight. The Sharks lost the game 2–1. After supplemental review, Clowe was given a two-game suspension by the NHL. On April 2, 2013, Clowe, with his contract set to expire at the end of the 2012–13 season, was traded to the

in exchange for a second- and a third-round pick in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, as well as a conditional second-round pick in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. (The conditional pick was to become a fifth-round pick should Clowe not resign with New York, or should New York fail to win two playoff rounds; both conditions were satisfied and the pick became a fifth-rounder.) On July 5, 2013, as an unrestricted free agent, Clowe signed a five-year, $24.25 million contract with the

. On September 12, 2015, Clowe retired from the NHL after team doctors refused to clear him to return to the ice following a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

initially sustained in a November 6, 2014, game against the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Coaching career

On July 12, 2016, Clowe was named the assistant coach of his former team, the New Jersey Devils. After two seasons as an assistant, he was hired as a head coach by the

, an expansion team in the

, for the 2018–19 season. He stepped down as head coach in January 2019 due to continuing health issues related to his concussion history. He'd already missed several games in November due to health concerns.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clowe, Ryane 1982 births Living people Canadian ice hockey forwards Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Ice hockey people from Newfoundland and Labrador Montreal Rocket players New Jersey Devils coaches New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players People from Newfoundland (island) Rimouski Océanic players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches 21st-century Canadian sportsmen