Rob Niedermayer – Stanley Cup Winner and World Hockey Championship
Rob grew up in Cranbrook with his brother Scott. Centre Rob Niedermayer was a coveted junior prospect with skill and grit while playing in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 1992-93,
Rob scored 43 goals in 52 games and helped Canada win gold at the 1993 World Junior Championships. Later that summer the Florida Panthers chose Rob with the fifth overall pick as they prepared for their inaugural NHL season. After eight seasons in Florida, Rob was traded to the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2001. Injuries would plague his season yet again in 2001-02 and midway through the following year the Flames dealt the former first rounder to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The trade turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the upstart Ducks reached the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, only to lose the series in a hard fought seven game series against Rob's older brother Scott's New Jersey Devils.
Once the regular season came to a close, Rob was named to Canada's World Championship team along with his brother Scott of the New Jersey Devils helped Canada capture gold at the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.
After the NHL lockout, Rob was joined by his Brother Scott on the Mighty Ducks roster for the start of the 2005-06 regular season. In his fourth season in Anaheim, Rob Niedermayer led all team forwards in time on ice as the team found their way back into the NHL playoffs. After failing to achieve their ultimate goal in 2005-06, Rob combined with Travis Moen and Samuel Pahlsson to form one of the leagues top defensive lines during the 2006-07 season. In the subsequent playoffs, Niedermayer saw action in all 21 games en route to a Stanley Cup championship. During the on-ice Cup celebration, Rob's brother Scott (who had already won three Stanley Cups in New Jersey) handed the trophy to immediately to Rob rather than the team's assistant captain.