Neidermayer, Gold Medal Captain, Retires

‘It’s Been More Than a Dream’

It would seem that, two years ago when Scott Neidermayer was contemplating retirement from hockey, the prospect of playing for Olympic gold in Canada played a large measure in keeping him on the ice.

On June 22, nearly four months after capturing that mesmerizing Olympic gold for Canada, the native of Cranbrook, B.C. announced his retirement at an Anaheim Ducks press conference. “The time feels right,” he said.

A defenceman who played 17 years in the National Hockey League, Neidermayer is the most decorated player in the history of Canadian hockey. He finished his storied career as captain of the 2010 Canadian men’s hockey team and, under considerable pressure, led them to gold in Vancouver.

A two-time Olympian, Neidermayer has won two gold medals. He was on the 2002 defence corps when Canada won gold in Salt Lake City to become Olympic champions for the first time in 50 years.

In his 46 games for Canada, he won gold at the 2004 World Championship, won the 2004 World Cup of Hockey title, and won gold at the 1990 World Junior Championship. In the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils (1995, 2000, 2003) and one with Anaheim (2007). Neidermayer, 37, is one of only seven Canadians to be Olympic champion, world champion and Stanley Cup champion. And he is the only player ever to have added a world junior title and a Memorial Cup title to that resume.

“From being drafted in 1991 by the Devils in Buffalo to playing my first NHL game in Madison Square Garden, getting five opportunities to compete for a Stanley Cup in the Finals, winning four of those, as well as playing for Team Canada in many international events, has been more than I ever could have asked for,” Neidermayer said.

“It’s been more than a dream. You wouldn’t have believed that if someone told you this is what your career is going to be full of. I’ve been very lucky.”