Chris Clifford (born May 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in parts of two games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks. He filled in for Murray Bannerman in a 1985 game and for Ed Belfour in a 1989 game. He won the Bobby Smith Trophy in 1985–86. Clifford was drafted in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Chris is considered the first goalie to score a goal in OHL history.[1] He later became a lawyer.
| Chris Clifford | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Clifford in 1988 | |||
| Born |
May 26, 1966 Kingston, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| NHL draft |
111th overall, 1984 Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| Playing career | 1984–1989 | ||
Playing career
editClifford was born in Kingston, Ontario. He spent his junior career with the Ontario Hockey League's Kingston Canadians and most of his professional career with various teams in the International Hockey League. Clifford became the first goaltender in Ontario Hockey League history to score a goal.[2] In December 2019, Chris Clifford had his jersey number retired by the Kingston Frontenacs joining 4 other players in the franchise's history.[3]
He remains an active member of the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawk Alumni networks.[4][5]
Post-playing career
editAfter his hockey career, Clifford attended law school at Queen's University and is now a partner at Bergeron Clifford LLP in Ontario, Canada.[6] He has consistently ranked as one of the top injury lawyers in Canada and is a recognized Top Lawyer in the country.[7] Since 2015, Clifford has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in Canada for his work in personal injury litigation.[8] Along with his business partner Edward Bergeron, Clifford has also received recognition from the Law Society of Ontario as a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation.[9]
Clifford also served as a trustee to the Law Foundation of Ontario until 2016.[10]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1982–83 | Brockville Braves | CJHL | 32 | — | — | — | 1746 | 126 | 1 | 4.33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Kingston Canadians | OHL | 50 | 16 | 28 | 0 | 2808 | 229 | 2 | 4.89 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Kingston Canadians | OHL | 52 | 15 | 34 | 0 | 2768 | 241 | 0 | 5.22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Kingston Canadians | OHL | 50 | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2988 | 178 | 1 | 3.57 | .866 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 564 | 31 | 1 | 3.30 | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Kingston Canadians | OHL | 44 | 18 | 25 | 0 | 2576 | 188 | 1 | 4.38 | — | 12 | 6 | 6 | 730 | 42 | 0 | 3.45 | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Saginaw Hawks | IHL | 22 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1146 | 80 | 0 | 4.19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Saginaw Hawks | IHL | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 321 | 23 | 0 | 4.30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | IHL | 23 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1352 | 77 | 0 | 3.42 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 360 | 24 | 0 | 4.01 | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Virginia Lancers | ECHL | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 547 | 16 | 0 | 1.75 | .954 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | IHL | 56 | 24 | 26 | 4 | 3247 | 215 | 1 | 3.97 | — | 5 | 1 | 4 | 299 | 20 | 0 | 4.01 | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 4 | 0 | 2.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Louisville Icehawks | ECHL | 56 | 29 | 19 | 6 | 3151 | 223 | 0 | 4.25 | .864 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 780 | 53 | 0 | 4.08 | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Muskegon Fury | CoHL | 19 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1038 | 82 | 1 | 4.74 | .858 | 2 | — | — | 117 | 11 | 0 | 5.64 | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Louisville Icehawks | ECHL | 35 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 1894 | 152 | 0 | 4.82 | .857 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7.17 | — | ||
| NHL totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Kingston Canadians Chris Clifford Scores first OHL goal by a goalie". www.originalhockeyhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ^ "Alumni Profile: Chris Clifford – Kingston Frontenacs". Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Kingston's Chris Clifford honored, humbled by hometown Frontenacs". Global News. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ "Alumni Roster". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ "Alumni". Chicago Blackhawks Alumni Association. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Clifford - Bergeron Clifford LLP". Bergeron Clifford LLP. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "Chris Clifford Kingston Personal Injury Lawyer". Top Lawyers - Experienced Canadian Lawyers. November 24, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Clifford - Kingston, Canada - Lawyer". www.bestlawyers.com. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "Directory of Certified Specialists". www1.lso.ca. Law Society of Ontario. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Paul Le Vay appointed to The Law Foundation of Ontario Board of Trustees". The Law Foundation of Ontario. March 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database