| Andrew Ference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ference with theEdmonton Oilers in February 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-03-17)March 17, 1979 (age 46) | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defence | ||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | ||||||||||||||||
| Played for | Pittsburgh Penguins Calgary Flames HC České Budějovice Boston Bruins Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||||||||||
| NHL draft | 208th overall,1997 Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1999–2015 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Andrew James Stewart Ference (born March 17, 1979) is a Canadian former professionalice hockey player. He played as adefenceman for thePittsburgh Penguins,Calgary Flames,Boston Bruins and theEdmonton Oilers. In 2011, Ference helped the Bruins to their sixthStanley Cup championship. Ference was born inEdmonton, but grew up in nearbySherwood Park, Alberta.
Ference began his hockey career in theWestern Hockey League (WHL) with thePortland Winterhawks. After two full seasons with the team, he was selected 208th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the1997 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 theUniversity of Alberta.[1] Ference played two more seasons with Portland and had a brief stint in theInternational Hockey League (IHL) with theKansas City Blades before joining Pittsburgh in1999.
After making his NHL debut on October 1, 1999, in a game against theDallas Stars, Ference scored his first NHL goal a month later against theNashville Predators on November 13, 1999. He split his rookie season between Pittsburgh and theirAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theWilkes-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 theNew Jersey Devils. In his third NHL season, Ference established himself as a full-time NHLer, scoring 11 points in 75 games.
On February 9, 2003, in the middle of the2002–03 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 the2004 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to theTampa Bay Lightning.
With the2004–05 NHL season suspended due to alock-out, Ference played in theCzech Republic forHC 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.
The following season, on February 10, 2007, he was traded, along with teammateChuck Kobasew, to the Boston Bruins for defencemanBrad Stuart and centreWayne Primeau. Ference scored 1 goal, along with 15 assists, during the2008–09 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 givingthe finger to the crowd at theBell Centre in Game 4 of theplayoffs first round series against theMontreal Canadiens after a scoring a goal. Ference's initial comments after the incident indicated it was an "equipment malfunction,"[2] though he later confessed[3] it had been an intentional gesture following an emotional playoff goal. Some teammates 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.[4][5] On June 15, 2011, Ference and the Boston Bruins defeated thePresidents' Trophy-winningVancouver Canucks 4–0 in Game 7 of theFinal to win the Stanley Cup.[6]
In2011–12, Ference scored six 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.[7]
On July 5, 2013, he signed a four-year deal as a free agent with his hometown team, theEdmonton Oilers.[8] On September 29, Ference was named the 14th captain in Oilers NHL franchise history, succeedingShawn Horcoff, who had been traded to theDallas Stars.[9] 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 withTaylor Hall,Jordan Eberle andRyan Nugent-Hopkins.[10] After playing in just six games of the 2015–16 NHL season, Ference was placed on IR to undergo season-ending hip surgery.
On September 16, 2016, Ference announced his retirement after 16 seasons.[11] He however remained on the Oilers long-term injured list for the duration of the2016–17 season, before formally ending his career at the conclusion of his contract on July 13, 2017.[12]
In 2018 Ference joined the NHL as its first Director of Social Impact, Growth and Fan Development. His focus will be on grass-roots growth, community development efforts, engaging minority fans and players, and better facilitating relations between players and the league.[13]
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.[14]
Ference and Krista Bradford, a former professionalsnowboarder, were married from 2002 to 2025,[15][16] having two daughters together between that time.[17][18]
Ference's association with environmentalistDavid Suzuki while in Calgary led him to create a carbon-neutral program for the NHL, which now includes over 500 players who purchasecarbon offset credits to counteract the negative environmental impact of professional sports.[19]
In 2009, he spoke at theNew Democratic Party's federal convention in Halifax.[20]
In February 2012,National Geographic began a ten-episode Web series called "Beyond the Puck" highlighting Andrew's life as an NHL Player and "eco-warrior."[21]
On September 5, 2011, following the Bruins Stanley Cup championship, Ference organized and led a parade andflash mob in Boston'sNorth End, which is the area where he resided during the NHL season.[22] 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 theTD 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.[23]
Ference is a fan of English Premier League football clubArsenal F.C.[24]
Ference is also a member of the popularNovember Project workout tribe in Boston and Edmonton.[25]
| 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 Mountfield | 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 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Canada | WJC |  | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| Memorial Cup champion | 1998 | |
| First All-Star Team (West) | 1997–98 | [26] |
| Plus-Minus Award | 1997–98 | [26] |
| Second All-Star Team (West) | 1998–99 | [26] |
| Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy | 1998–99 | [26] |
| Inducted intoPortland Winter Hawks Hall of Fame | 2018 | [27] |
| AHL | ||
| AHL All-Star Game | 2001 | [28] |
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup champion | 2011 | [29] |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy | 2014 | [30] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theWHL Humanitarian of the Year Award 1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Edmonton Oilers captain 2013–15 | Succeeded by |
