Playing career

WHL and Pittsburgh Penguins

Ference began his hockey career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Portland Winterhawks. After two full seasons with the team, he was selected 208th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Ference was not ranked by Central Scouting for the draft. In response, Ference sent a letter to every NHL general manager indicating his belief he would play in the NHL and also enclosed testing results conducted by the University of Alberta. Ference played two more seasons with Portland and had a brief stint in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Kansas City Blades before joining Pittsburgh in 1999.

After making his NHL debut on October 1, 1999, in a game against the Dallas Stars, Ference scored his first NHL goal a month later against the Nashville Predators on November 13, 1999. He split his rookie season between Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, finishing with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 30 NHL games and 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists) in 44 AHL games.

The next season, Ference continued to share time between both Penguins teams. Ference played in his first NHL playoffs with Pittsburgh in 2001, playing 18 games and scoring 3 goals and 10 points before the Penguins were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils. In his third NHL season, Ference established himself as a full-time NHLer, scoring 11 points in 75 games.

Calgary Flames and NHL Lockout

On February 9, 2003, in the middle of the 2002-03 season, Ference was traded to the Calgary Flames for future considerations. He posted 4 assists in 16 games during the remainder of the season with Calgary. The next season, he registered 16 points with 4 goals and 12 assists in 72 games for Calgary and also played 26 playoff games posting 3 assists. Calgary reached the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the 2004-05 NHL season suspended due to a lockout, Ference played in the Czech Republic for HC České Budějovice. Ference returned to the Flames when the NHL restarted the next season. He played all 82 games of the season for the first time in his career, scoring 4 goals, and 27 assists for a career high 31 points.

Boston Bruins

The following season, on February 10, 2007, he was traded, along with teammate Chuck Kobasew, to the Boston Bruins for defenceman Brad Stuart and centre Wayne Primeau. Ference scored 1 goal, along with 15 assists, during the 2008-09 NHL season. On March 23, 2010, he agreed on a three-year contract extension with the Bruins worth an annual average salary of $2.25 million.

On April 22, 2011, Ference was fined $2,500 for an obscene gesture to the crowd at the Bell Centre in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs first round series against the Montreal Canadiens. Ference's initial comments after the incident indicated it was an "equipment malfunction," though he later confessed it had been an intentional gesture following an emotional playoff goal. Some team mates credited this incident as a turning point in their eventual Stanley Cup Victory. In the Bruins 4-3 game 7 victory over the Montreal of the same series, Ference drew much ire for a questionable collision to the head of Canadiens' Jeff Halpern, but upon a disciplinary hearing it was ruled that the hit did not warrant any sort of disciplinary action.

On June 15, 2011, Ference and the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the Final to win the Stanley Cup.

The next season Ference scored 6 goals, a career high, and was named alternate captain during home games for the first half of the season, and during away games for the second half of the season.

Edmonton Oilers

On July 5, 2013, he signed a four-year deal as a free agent with his hometown team, the Edmonton Oilers. On September 29, Ference was named the 14th captain in Oilers NHL franchise history, succeeding Shawn Horcoff, who had been traded to the Dallas Stars. On October 7, 2015, after serving as the Oilers captain for the past two seasons, it was announced that Ference had relinquished his role as captain and was named as an alternate captain, along with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After playing in just six games of the 2015-16 NHL season, Ference was placed on IR to undergo season-ending hip surgery.

Personal life

Family

Ference and Krista Bradford, a former professional snowboarder, married in 2002. They have two daughters: Ava Tye, born in June 2005, and Stella, born in March 2009.

Environmentalism

Ference's association with environmentalist David Suzuki while in Calgary led him to create a carbon-neutral program for the NHL, which now includes over 500 players who purchase carbon offset credits to counteract the negative environmental impact of professional sports.

In February 2012, National Geographic began a ten-episode Web series called "Beyond the Puck" highlighting Andrew's life as a NHL Player and "eco-warrior."

Stanley Cup Parade

On September 5, 2011, following the Bruins Stanley Cup championship, Ference organized and led a parade and flash mob in Boston's North End, which is the area where he resided during the NHL season. After bringing the Stanley Cup to and from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital on a bike trailer, Ference brought the Cup to an area of the North End outside the TD Garden. There, the Cup was hoisted up on a platform carried by friends and family, and paraded through the North End, with many stops at local shops along the way. Ference and the other Cup-carriers were accompanied by a marching band, members of The Boston Bruins Ice Girls, and the Boston Bruins mascot Blades. Hundreds of fans also joined them for the parade, which was concluded with a dancing flash mob.

Other

Ference is a fan of English Premier League football club Arsenal F.C..

Ference is also a member of the popular November Project workout tribe in Boston and Edmonton.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994-95	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1995-96	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL		72	9	31	40	159		7	1	3	4	12
1996-97	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL		72	12	32	44	163		6	1	2	3	12
1997-98	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL		72	11	57	68	142		16	2	18	20	28
1998-99	Portland Winter Hawks	WHL		40	11	21	32	104		4	1	4	5	10
1998-99	Kansas City Blades	IHL		5	1	2	3	4		3	0	0	0	0
1999-00	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		44	8	20	28	58		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		30	2	4	6	20		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		43	6	18	24	95		3	1	0	1	12
2000-01	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		36	4	11	15	28		18	3	7	10	16
2001-02	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		75	4	7	11	73		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		22	1	3	4	36		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Calgary Flames	NHL		16	0	4	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Calgary Flames	NHL		72	4	12	16	53		26	0	3	3	25
2004-05	HC České Budějovice	CZE		19	5	6	11	45		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Calgary Flames	NHL		82	4	27	31	85		7	0	4	4	12
2006-07	Calgary Flames	NHL		54	2	10	12	66		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	Boston Bruins	NHL		26	1	2	3	31		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Boston Bruins	NHL		59	1	14	15	50		7	0	4	4	6
2008-09	Boston Bruins	NHL		47	1	15	16	40		3	0	0	0	4
2009-10	Boston Bruins	NHL		51	0	8	8	16		13	0	1	1	18
2010-11	Boston Bruins	NHL		70	3	12	15	60		25	4	6	10	37
2011-12	Boston Bruins	NHL		72	6	18	24	46		7	1	3	4	0
2012-13	HC České Budějovice	CZE		21	2	5	7	24		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Boston Bruins	NHL		48	4	9	13	35		14	0	2	2	4
2013-14	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		71	3	15	18	63		—	—	—	—	—
2014-15	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		70	3	11	14	39		—	—	—	—	—
2015-16	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		6	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				907	43	182	225	753		120	8	30	38	122

Awards and honours

Honours	Year
WHL First All-Star Team (West)	1997-98
WHL Plus-Minus Award	1997-98
WHL Second All-Star Team (West)	1998-99
WHL Humanitarian of the Year (Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy)	1998-99
Stanley Cup Champion	2011
NHL: King Clancy Memorial Trophy	2013-14

[ Source: Wikipedia ]