Paul Ranger

Paul D. Ranger (born September 12, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an assistant coach with the UOIT Ridgebacks.[1] He spent the majority of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League before leaving the sport at the professional level for almost three years due to severe depression. Ranger returned to professional hockey at the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies during the 2012–13 season, and subsequently signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 24, 2013, to return to the NHL.

Paul Ranger
Ranger with Genève-Servette HC in 2014
Born (1984-09-12) September 12, 1984
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Genève-Servette HC
Kloten Flyers
NHL Draft 183rd overall, 2002
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2004–2015

Playing career

Ranger played his junior career with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 183rd overall in 2002, he played two more seasons with the Generals before signing with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the lockout, he played 76 games with the Lightning, scoring 18 points.

In October 2009, Ranger approached Lightning team personnel before practice and requested a leave of absence without pay, which the team agreed to.[2]

During his time away from professional hockey, he attended the University of Ottawa and helped coached bantam hockey in his hometown, with help from David Branch, commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League.[2]

On August 21, 2012, after almost three seasons removed from competitive hockey, Ranger signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.[3] His agent approached the team to inquire about his return to the NHL. Even after his return, Ranger has declined to talk about the specific details about why he chose to return to professional hockey.[2] After a successful return to professional hockey with the Marlies, Ranger signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2013–14 season.[4]

On July 15, 2014, after a single season with the Maple Leafs, Ranger opted to continue his career abroad, signing a two-year contract to help solidify the defense of Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss NLA.[5] He played only 23 games in his first season with Geneva and was a healthy scratch for most of the 2014/15 season. He was released at the end of the season. He would join the Kloten Flyers for four games.

In 2018, he was the subject of "The Mystery of Paul Ranger", a documentary feature on TSN. The segment's creators, Matt Dorman, Darren Dreger, James Judges, Nigel Akam, Kevin Fallis and Darren Oliver, received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Sports Feature Segment at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards.[6]

Career statistics
Ranger with the Toronto Marlies.
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Oshawa Generals OHL 32 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2001–02 Oshawa Generals OHL 62 0 9 9 49 5 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Oshawa Generals OHL 68 10 28 38 70 13 0 3 3 10
2003–04 Oshawa Generals OHL 62 12 31 43 72 7 0 1 1 10
2004–05 Springfield Falcons AHL 69 3 8 11 46 — — — — —
2005–06 Springfield Falcons AHL 1 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 76 1 17 18 58 5 2 4 6 0
2006–07 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 72 4 24 28 42 6 0 1 1 4
2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 72 10 21 31 56 — — — — —
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 42 2 11 13 56 — — — — —
2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 8 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Toronto Marlies AHL 51 8 17 25 54 9 2 2 4 14
2013–14 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 53 6 8 14 36 — — — — —
2014–15 Genève–Servette HC NLA 23 1 3 4 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Kloten Flyers NLA 4 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
AHL totals 121 12 27 39 100 9 2 2 4 14
NHL totals 323 24 82 106 254 11 2 5 7 4

References
  1. "Ridgebacks MHKY Assistant Coach Paul Ranger featured in TSN documentary - News and announcements". news.UOIT.ca. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  2. Arthur, Bruce (2013-11-09). "Toronto Maple Leafs' Paul Ranger Couldn't Be Happier With Shot At Return to NHL". The National Post. Archived from the original on 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  3. "Brophy on Leafs: Ranger returns from hiatus". Sportsnet.ca. 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  4. "Maple Leafs sign Ranger to one-year deal". NHL.com. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  5. "Paul Ranger renforce la défense des Vernets" [Paul Ranger strengthens defense] (in French). Genève-Servette HC. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  6. "Matt Dorman, Darren Dreger, James Judges, Nigel Akam, Kevin Fallis, Darren Oliver: 2019 Best Sports Feature Segment". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, February 7, 2019.
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