Playing career

Ronning played his minor hockey in Burnaby. He led his midget team to the 1982 Air Canada Cup, where they won the gold medal. Ronning was named Most Valuable player and led the tournament in scoring. Prior to being drafted, he played in the Western Hockey League for the New Westminster Bruins, displaying the same excellent scoring touch. In 1983-84, Ronning's draft year, he posted 136 points in 71 games, earning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year. Due to his small stature (Ronning was 5'8"), he was not drafted until the seventh round, when the St. Louis Blues picked him 134th overall. The next season, he returned to New Westminster and accumulated an astonishing 197 points, establishing a WHL record (he was later surpassed by Rob Brown's 212-point season in 1986-87). Accordingly, Ronning earned the WHL Most Valuable Player Award and the Bob Clarke Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Recording just 20 penalty minutes, he was also named the Most Sportsmanlike Player.

After Ronning's record setting season, he joined the Canadian National Team, with whom he played for one and a half seasons. During this stint, Ronning would make his first appearance in the NHL with the Blues, playing five games in the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ronning would begin the next season with the National Team again before joining the Blues for the remainder of 1986-87.

Ronning would not, however, find his full stride in St. Louis. He spent part of 1988-89 with the Blues' IHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen and played the entirety of the following season in Italy with HC Asiago. When he returned to the Blues in 1990-91, he was traded to his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks in a five-player deal that sent him with Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso and a fifth round draft pick (Brian Loney) in exchange for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn.

Ronning would quickly become a key element on the rapidly improving Canucks. In 1992-93, he posted a career-high 29 goals and 85 points. On April 15, 1993, in a game against the Los Angeles Kings, he nearly tied Brian Trottier's record for most points in a single period, notching 3 goals and 2 assists in the third (Trottier had six). The following season, Ronning helped the Canucks on their run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, where they eventually lost in game seven to the New York Rangers. He played the seventh game with a broken hand.

Spending another two seasons in Vancouver, Ronning became a free agent after the 1995-96 season and signed with the Phoenix Coyotes for their first season after moving from Winnipeg. Following just over two seasons in Phoenix, Ronning was dealt with Richard Lintner to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.

As he joined the Predators in their expansion year, he took on a leadership role with the fledgling Predators, who finished second-to-last in their first NHL season. In all four seasons with the Predators, Ronning would lead the team in scoring, twice exceeding 60 points. He played an important role in mentoring young players, such as David Legwand.

At the 2001-02 trade deadline, the Predators sent Ronning to the Los Angeles Kings, where he was expected to help the Kings in the playoffs. In the off-season, he was traded from Los Angeles to yet another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild in their third year. Ronning was a veteran presence and still an able scorer, recording 48 points, as the Wild reached the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In 2003-04, Ronning signed with the New York Islanders, mostly playing as a powerplay specialist, where he recorded 24 points in 40 games played. As the NHL lockout suspended play, Ronning was inactive the following season. When the NHL resumed, Ronning announced his decision to retire on February 15, 2006. Cliff Ronning was involved in two of the most notable games of Patrick Roy’s career. He played against Roy in the 1982 Air Canada Cup midget tournament. Ronning’s team beat Roy’s Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs, and it was the last game of Roy’s midget career. On April 22, 2003, Ronning played for the Minnesota Wild, and played in Roy’s final NHL playoff game.

Awards and achievements

• Air Canada Cup Most Valuable Player - 1982
• BCJHL Coastal Division First All-Star Team - 1983
• WHL Rookie of the Year - 1984
• WHL West First All-Star Team - 1985
• WHL Most Valuable Player - 1985
• Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL leading scorer) - 1985
• WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player - 1985

Records

• WHL league record; most points in a season - 197 in 1984-85

Personal life

Father of four, Taryn, Kristin, Ty and Carly, Ronning returned to live in Vancouver after his retirement. He plays with the Old-timers' Hockey Challenge and coaches a spring hockey team, the Vancouver Selects. Ronning has participated in the research and development of a better hockey stick. In 2009, Cliff Ronning and Ron Kunisaki formed BASE Hockey Labs. President and Co-Founder Ron Kunisaki founded Innovative Hockey, Inc. in 1993 and built the industry's largest high-performance OEM supplier before selling to Warrior Hockey in 2005. Vice-President and Co-Founder Cliff Ronning heads up Base Hockey's Shooting Analysis and Custom Fitting protocol in Burnaby, British Columbia. Recently, Cliff Ronning was featured on Canucks.nhl.com - Where are they now? The article discusses Cliff's NHL career and his current venture BASE Hockey.

Quotes

“Even though I was always one of the smallest kids on my hockey team growing up, I never stopped dreaming about playing in the NHL, so having the ability to live out that dream was unbelievable. I certainly hope that kids who are also small in stature but not in heart will look at me and other similar players and know that their dream can come true through hard work and dedication to the game.”

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983-84	New Westminster Bruins	WHL		71	69	67	136	10		9	8	13	21	10
1984-85	New Westminster Bruins	WHL		70	89	108	197	20		11	10	14	24	4
1985-86	Canadian National Team	Intl		71	55	63	118	53		—	—	—	—	—
1985-86	St.Louis Blues	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		5	1	1	2	2
1986-87	Canadian National Team	Intl		26	17	16	33	12		—	—	—	—	—
1986-87	St.Louis Blues	NHL		42	11	14	25	6		4	0	1	1	0
1987-88	St.Louis Blues	NHL		26	5	8	13	12		—	—	—	—	—
1988-89	Peoria Rivermen	IHL		12	11	20	31	8		—	—	—	—	—
1988-89	St.Louis Blues	NHL		64	24	31	55	18		7	1	3	4	8
1989-90	Asiago HC	Italy		42	74	61	135	29		—	—	—	—	—
1990-91	St.Louis Blues	NHL		48	14	18	32	10		—	—	—	—	—
1990-91	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		11	6	6	12	0		6	6	3	9	12
1991-92	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		80	24	47	71	42		13	8	5	13	6
1992-93	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		79	29	56	85	30		12	2	9	11	6
1993-94	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		76	25	43	68	42		24	5	10	15	16
1994-95	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		41	6	19	25	27		11	3	5	8	2
1995-96	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		79	22	45	67	42		6	0	2	2	6
1996-97	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		69	19	32	51	26		7	0	7	7	12
1997-98	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		80	11	44	55	36		6	1	3	4	4
1998-99	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		7	2	5	7	2		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Nashville Predators	NHL		72	18	35	53	40		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Nashville Predators	NHL		82	26	36	62	34		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Nashville Predators	NHL		80	19	43	62	28		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Nashville Predators	NHL		67	18	31	49	24		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		14	1	4	5	8		4	0	1	1	2
2002-03	Minnesota Wild	NHL		80	17	31	48	24		17	2	7	9	4
2003-04	New York Islanders	NHL		40	9	15	24	2		4	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				1137	306	563	869	453		126	29	57	86	72

Transactions

• June 9, 1984 - Drafted in the 7th round, 134th overall, by the St. Louis Blues
• March 5, 1991 - Traded by St. Louis with Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso and a 5th round draft pick (Brian Loney) to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn
• July 1, 1996 - Signs with the Phoenix Coyotes as a free agent
• October 31, 1998- Traded by Phoenix with Richard Lintner to the Nashville Predators for future considerations
• March 16, 2002 - Traded by Nashville to the Los Angeles Kings for Jere Karalahti and a 4th round draft pick (Teemu Lassila)
• June 22, 2002 - Traded by Los Angeles to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 4th round draft pick (Aaron Rome)
• January 9, 2004 - Signs with the New York Islanders as a free agent
• February 15, 2006 - Announces his retirement
• August 2009 - Announces new venture - BASE Hockey - Custom hockey sticks, Shooting Analysis and Custom Fitting protocol located in Burnaby, British Columbia http://www.basehockey.ca

[ Source: Wikipedia ]