Cliff Ronning always wore lucky number seven, but it wasn’t luck that pushed one of the most beloved BC-born hockey players of all-time to a standout career of over 1100 NHL games.

A skilled, determined playmaker with a truckload of heart, Ronning faced no shortage of doubters questioning his size. Proving people wrong drove him.

He won the tournament MVP while propelling the Burnaby Winter Club Travellers to the 1982 Air Canada Cup, defeating Patrick Roy’s Sainte-Foy, Quebec team—still the only BC team to win the national midget championship. In 1985, Ronning was named WHL MVP after totalling a record 89 goals and 197 points in just 70 games with the New Westminster Bruins.

Coach Dave King invited him out for the Canadian national team and Ronning racked up 156 points, still the highest scorer in national team history to this day. Highlights include winning the 1987 Izvestia Cup in Moscow and a silver medal at the 1991 world ice hockey championships.

Drafted by the St Louis Blues, Ronning again silenced the doubters by scoring in his first NHL game. After an MVP season in Italy with HC Asiago, he was traded to his hometown Vancouver Canucks and quickly became a crowd favourite. In 1992-93 he produced a career-best 85-point season and the following year played a major role helping the Canucks to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final while playing with a broken hand. In total, Ronning played for seven NHL teams over 17 seasons, compiling 869 career points.

Written and researched by Jason Beck, Curator of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

To view the 2018 Inductee career and thank you videos please visit our YouTube Channel here.