Chris Pronger Children: Meet Jack, George And Lilah

Chris Pronger children-Former Canadian hockey defenseman, Chris Pronger was born on October 10th, 1974 in Dryden, Ontario in Canada.

He was born to Jim Pronger and Ella Pronger. Pronger shares the same parents with his elder brother, Sean Pronger who is also a hockey player.

He grew up playing minor hockey in his area before moving up to the junior ranks in Ontario. He was discovered through the Ontario U-17 program when he was 15 years old and signed with the Stratford Cullitons Jr. B (OHA) team for the 1990–1991 campaign.

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Future NHL player Greg de Vries was one of his Stratford defense teammates. Instead of choosing to play in the Ontario Hockey League, Pronger stated in May 1991 that he would be joining his older brother Sean at Bowling Green State University to compete in the NCAA (OHL).

Despite his pre-draft predictions, Pronger was chosen by the Peterborough Petes in the sixth round of the OHL Priority Selection. Pronger went to Peterborough, not as he had intended.

After two outstanding seasons with Peterborough, Pronger was selected second overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, trailing Alexandre Daigle, who famously said, “I’m glad I got drafted first because no one remembers number two.”

Pronger was highly regarded for his rare combination of imposing size, speed, offensive skill (particularly on the power play), and physicality.

In his first NHL season, Pronger played 81 games with the Whalers and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. Some have criticized Pronger for being impatient and immature because he was one of several Whalers that season who had off-ice problems.

In late March, he was one of six players arrested for engaging in a bar fight in Buffalo. Three days later, he was arrested for drunk driving in Ohio.

Early in his St. Louis career, Pronger played for coach and general manager Mike Keenan, who pushed him to get stronger and make less errors.

Pronger was once more selected for the All-Star team in his third season with St. Louis and his first as club captain. He also experienced a short heart attack in that year while playing against the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs after being struck in the chest by a puck.

He had previously participated in Nagano for the Canadian Olympic squad. Pronger achieved a career-high 62 points and +52 rating in 1999-2000. At the conclusion of the season, his achievements earned him the Norris and Hart awards.

The following year, Pronger scored 47 points but played in only 51 games due to injury issues. He captured a gold medal with Team Canada at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in February 2002. He enjoyed another successful NHL season and participated in the All-Star Game that same year.

For the third time in a row, Pronger was chosen to represent Team Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics. The same year, the Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. Pronger made NHL history on June 5, 2006, when he scored a penalty shot goal in the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Pronger and Ryan Kesler of Vancouver got into a fight on March 12, 2008. Pronger unnecessarily stepped on Kesler’s leg after being entangled with him beyond the Anaheim blue line. Kesler wasn’t hurt, and the NHL didn’t suspend Pronger after an initial investigation.

Pronger was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers on June 27, 2009, along with forward Ryan Dingle, for Joffrey Lupul, defenseman Luca Sbisa, two first-round draft picks, and a conditional third-round pick. Pronger extended his contract for an additional seven years ten days later.

Pronger was chosen to represent Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on December 30, 2009. Along with Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla, he served as one of the team’s alternate captains.

The Philadelphia Flyers traded Sam Gagner and a conditional draft selection to the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, 2015, along with the playing rights of Chris Pronger and Nicklas Grossmann. Pronger never played for Arizona, hence the move was done to suit each club’s salary cap considerations.

On June 22, Pronger was eligible to formally retire after his contract expired following the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and he signed with the Florida Panthers to serve as the team’s senior advisor of hockey operations.