Andrew Ference

Andrew James Stewart Ference (born March 17, 1979) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. Ference started in the NHL during the 1999–2000 season and has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, and Edmonton Oilers. In 2011, Ference helped the Bruins to their 6th Stanley Cup Championship. Ference was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta.\n', ' Ference began his hockey career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Portland Winterhawks. After two full seasons with the team, he was selected 208th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Ference was not ranked by Central Scouting for the draft. In response, Ference sent a letter to every NHL general manager indicating his belief he would play in the NHL and also enclosed testing results conducted by the University of Alberta. Ference played two more seasons with Portland and had a brief stint in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Kansas City Blades before joining Pittsburgh in 1999.\n', ' After making his NHL debut on October 1, 1999, in a game against the Dallas Stars, Ference scored his first NHL goal a month later against the Nashville Predators on November 13, 1999. He split his rookie season between Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, finishing with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 30 NHL games and 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists) in 44 AHL games.\n', '