| Ben Clymer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1978-04-11)April 11, 1978 (age 46) Bloomington,Minnesota,U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 199 lb (90 kg; 14 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals HC Dinamo Minsk ERC Ingolstadt | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 27th overall,1997 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1999–2010 | ||
Ben Andrew Clymer (born April 11, 1978) is an American former professionalice hockeydefenseman who played in theNational Hockey League with theTampa Bay Lightning andWashington Capitals. He also played college hockey at theUniversity of Minnesota.
Clymer was drafted 27th overall in the1997 NHL Entry Draft by theBoston Bruins. He attended and played hockey forBloomington Jefferson High School and theUniversity of Minnesota. Clymer left school in 1998 to take advantage of a loophole in the NHL CBA which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent if he was to play one year in the WHL. In this pursuit he joined theSeattle Thunderbirds of theWestern Hockey League in 1998–1999 in played 70 games posting 56 points.
Clymer made hisNHL debut with theTampa Bay Lightning the following season (1999), and was part of the 2004Stanley Cup Championship team. During theNHL lockout, Clymer played with Swiss teamEHC Biel in the second Swiss division.
After the lockout, Clymer returned to the NHL, signing a one-year contract with theWashington Capitals on August 8, 2005. The following year he was re-signed to a three-year contract, however spent the final year of his contract in theAHL with theHershey Bears.[1]
For the2008–09 season, Clymer left the NHL and signed with the Minsk of theKHL. That season Clymer was named an All-Star and played in the KHL's All-Star game outdoor in Moscow's Red Square. Clymer scored a goal and was a member of the victorious "Team Jagr". Following that season Clymer signed a one-year contract with ERC Ingolstadt.
An integral part of Ingolstadt's defense during the2009–10 season, Clymer scored 32 points in 37 games before he was again on the move within Europe, signing withHC Lugano of the SwissNationalliga A.
Clymer, failed to appear for Lugano in a NLA after suffering a season ending knee injury in training camp. He then returned to Ingolstadt on a one-year contract on May 14, 2011.[2] However, unable to satisfactorily recover from his lingering knee injury, Clymer announced his retirement just over a month later on June 30, 2011.[3]
Following Clymer's retirement, Clymer enrolled back at the University of Minnesota, and was admitted to theCarlson School of Management where he received a degree in Finance. During his retirement Clymer also broke into the broadcast world. In 2009 Clymer was hired by Channel 45 to cover the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. Clymer has continued to annually cover the State High School Tournament for Channel 45 and has also been hired byFox Sports North to cover Minnesota Golden Gopher and Minnesota Wild games. On September 16, 2013 it was announced that Clymer had joined theBig Ten Network as a college hockey analyst.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | Bloomington Jefferson High School | HS-MN | 23 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Bloomington Jefferson High School | HS-MN | 28 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Bloomington Jefferson High School | HS-MN | 18 | 12 | 34 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 29 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 70 | 12 | 44 | 56 | 93 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 19 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 60 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 53 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 23 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 81 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 65 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 57 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 66 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | EHC Biel | NLB | 19 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 24 | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 77 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 66 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 50 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 49 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 37 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 70 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 438 | 52 | 77 | 129 | 367 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | United States | WJC | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | |
| 1997 | United States | WJC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2000 | United States | WC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-WCHARookie Team | 1996–97 |
Clymer has a degree in Finance. He is married.[4]