Rob Niedermayer

He is the younger brother of former NHL defenceman Scott Niedermayer (the two were teammates for four seasons) and cousin of defenceman Jason Strudwick. Born in Cassiar, British Columbia, he and his brother Scott grew up in Cranbrook.\n', ' Niedermayer was drafted fifth overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, he was playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He began his NHL career immediately following his draft, without playing a game in the minors. During the 1995–96 season, he set career highs in goals, assists and points in the regular season. In the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Panthers went on an improbable playoff drive to the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept in four games by the Colorado Avalanche. Niedermayer was hurt by concussions in the next years and was never able to achieve the same level of scoring ability again. His NHL role soon turned into a defensive forward.\n', ' On July 23, 2001, Niedermayer was traded to the Calgary Flames (alongside a draft pick) in exchange for Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer. At the 2003 NHL trade deadline, he was sent to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That same year, he helped the Anaheim Ducks make an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals, his second such run. But again, Niedermayer\'s team lost, although this time it was in seven games to his brother\'s team, the New Jersey Devils. He and Scott became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Stanley Cup Final since Ken and Terry Reardon did it in 1946. In the summer of 2005, Rob\'s brother Scott was signed by the Mighty Ducks, and for the first time in their NHL careers, the two brothers were playing on the same team.\n', '