Dion Phaneuf

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Position Defence
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) The Phaneuf Train
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
212 lb (96 kg/15 st 2 lb)
NHL Team Calgary Flames
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born April 10, 1985 (1985-04-10) (age 23),
Edmonton, AB
NHL Draft 9th overall, 2003
Calgary Flames
Pro career 2005 – present

Dion Phaneuf (born April 10, 1985 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a professional Canadian ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Dion Phaneuf was drafted ninth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames and completed his run in the Western Hockey League for the Red Deer Rebels in the spring of 2005.

Phaneuf was named to the CHL First All-Star team for the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, selected from the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. In 2004 he picked up the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy for Top Defenceman and was named to WHL East First All-Star Team. In February of 2005 The Hockey News publication named him the number two prospect in the world behind Russian Alexander Ovechkin.[citation needed]

Phaneuf represented Canada at the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The team won silver in a defeat to the American junior team. Phaneuf was named to the Tournament All Star Team. The following year Phaneuf returned to the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Canadians took gold for the first time in eight years. Phaneuf was again awarded a spot on the Tournament All-Star Team, and was named Top Defenceman of the tournament.

Phaneuf made his NHL debut on the opening night of the 2005–06 NHL season for the Flames on October 5, 2005 in a 6–3 loss to Minnesota. He recorded his first point, first assist, and first goal in the October 10, 2005 game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Phaneuf earned the rookie of the month award for November as recognized by the NHL. Hockey's Future listed him as their #3 prospect behind Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and said that he would likely win the James Norris Memorial Trophy at some point in his career. [1] On April 13, 2006 he became only the third rookie defenceman (along with Brian Leetch and Barry Beck) to score 20 goals in a season. As well, he broke the Calgary Flames' team record for goals by a rookie defenceman, which was 18 by Gary Suter.

During the All-Star break of the 2006–07 season, an informal poll of 141 NHL players conducted by ESPN named Phaneuf the hardest hitter in the NHL.[2] On January 24, 2007, Phaneuf played in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game and scored the longest empty-net goal in All-Star history (200 ft.) when he banked a shot off the boards from behind his own net and the puck rolled into the vacated Eastern net.

He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship team that won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland in Moscow.

Rumored to have declined an invitation to play at the IIHF World Championship for Team Canada in 2008.

Recently, he was signed to a six year contract extension with the Flames, averaging 6.5 million dollars per year.

[edit] Personal Life

It is rumoured that Phaneuf is attached to Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert, who has previously dated fellow NHLers Sean Avery and Mike Komisarek. Pictures[1] of Elisha Cuthbert and Dion vacationing in Hawaii[2] hit the internet at the beginning of May, confirming that they are a couple.

[edit] Awards & Achievements

[edit] NHL 09

Dion Phaneuf was confirmed on June 8th, 2008 as the cover athlete for EA Sports top selling NHL series for the '09 installment by the Calgary Sun newspaper.[3]

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Red Deer Rebels WHL 67 5 12 17 170 21 0 2 2 14
2002–03 Red Deer Rebels WHL 71 16 14 30 185 23 7 7 14 34
2003–04 Red Deer Rebels WHL 62 19 24 43 126 19 2 9 11 30
2004–05 Red Deer Rebels WHL 55 24 32 56 73 7 1 4 5 12
2005–06 Calgary Flames NHL 82 20 29 49 93 7 1 0 1 7
2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 79 17 33 50 98 6 1 0 1 7
2007–08 Calgary Flames NHL 82 17 43 60 182 7 3 4 7 4
WHL Totals 255 64 82 146 554 70 10 22 32 90
NHL Totals 243 54 105 159 373 13 5 4 9 18

[edit] International play

Medal record
Competitor for Flag of Canada Canada
Men's Ice Hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold 2005 Grand Forks Ice Hockey
Silver 2004 Helsinki Ice Hockey
World Championships
Gold 2007 Moscow Ice Hockey

Overall, Phaneuf has represented Canada at the following tournaments:

[edit] International Statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Canada WJC 6 2 2 4 29
2005 Canada WJC 6 1 5 6 14
2007 Canada WC 7 0 8 8 2
Totals 19 3 15 18 45

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Elisha Cuthbert and Dion Phaneuf in Hawaii", Splash News Online, 2008-05-07. 
  2. ^ "Elisha Cuthbert Likes Hockey Players", Pacific Coast News Online, 2008-05-06. 
  3. ^ http://calsun.canoe.ca/Showbiz/2008/...11016-sun.html


[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jeff Woywitka		 Winner of the WHL Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy
2004, 2005		 Succeeded by
Kris Russell
v • d • e
Atlanta/Calgary Flames first-round draft picks
Atlanta: Richard • Lysiak • Mulhern • Shand • Phillipoff • Marsh • Reinhart
Calgary: Cyr • MacInnis • Quinn • Roberts • Biotti • Pelawa • Deasley • Muzzatti • Kidd • Sundblad • Stillman • Mattsson • Dingman • Gauthier • Morris • Tkaczuk • Fata • Saprykin • Krahn • Kobasew • Nystrom • Phaneuf • Chucko • Pelech • Irving • Backlund