Cleary was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, the location of the area\'s only hospital, and was raised in Harbour Grace, in a section of the town called Riverhead. After playing minor hockey in Harbour Grace, Cleary left home at age 15 to play for the Kingston Voyageurs of the Metro Junior Hockey League (OHA). He scored 46 points in 41 games with the Voyageurs that season, and was subsequently selected 11th overall by the Belleville Bulls of the OHL in the 1994 OHL Priority Selection.\n', '

Cleary spent his junior career with Belleville. After his rookie season in 1994-95, Cleary was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team and to the OHL First All-Rookie team. During Cleary\'s second year with the Bulls, he was second in the league in points with 115 and was named to the OHL First All-Star Team and the CHL Second All-Star Team. During the 1996–97 season, Cleary served as captain of the Bulls. While his offensive production dropped off from the previous season, he was nevertheless named to the OHL First All-Star Team, and was drafted 13th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Cleary played his final year of major junior hockey during 1997–98, leading the OHL playoffs in assists (17) and points (23).\n', '

Just one year removed from junior hockey, Cleary was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a package that landed Boris Mironov in Chicago. Cleary played parts of four seasons in Edmonton. Cleary\'s $1 million contract was bought out by the Oilers in the summer of 2003. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to a much cheaper contract by the Phoenix Coyotes. He played, together with his former Edmonton teammate and friend Shawn Horcoff, for Mora IK of Elitserien during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Following the lockout, Phoenix did not offer Cleary a qualifying contract. Cleary was invited to the Detroit Red Wings training camp, making the team out of camp and signing to a one-year contract with the Red Wings on October 4, 2005. In the 2005–06 season, Cleary established himself as a dependable role player as a defensive forward.\n', '

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