Rod Pelley (born September 1, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. After his collegiate career, Pelley signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils, and was with the organization from 2006 to 2011. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on December 12, 2011.

Rod Pelley
Pelley with the Ducks in 2012.
Born (1984-09-01) September 1, 1984 (age 40)
Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Anaheim Ducks
SønderjyskE
HSC Csíkszereda
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–2020

Playing career

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Pelley was born in Kitimat, BC, Canada, where he attended St. Anthony's Elementary School and Mount Elizabeth Secondary School. At the age of 16, Pelley moved on to play hockey in the BCHL, first with the Prince George Spruce Kings, finishing his BCHL career with the Vernon Vipers. He then went on to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey on an athletic scholarship for the Buckeyes of the Ohio State University. Pelley graduated with a degree in Sports Management in 2006.

After his collegiate career, Pelley signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils. He scored his first NHL goal on November 8, 2007 against Martin Biron of the Philadelphia Flyers.

With New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Lowell Devils in the 2008–09 season, Pelley contributed 38 points in 75 games. He then played his first full season in the NHL in 2009–10 with New Jersey.

On December 12, 2011, Pelley, along with Mark Fraser and a 2012 7th round draft pick, was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Kurtis Foster and Timo Pielmeier. New Jersey Devils GM, Lou Lamoriello spoke about the trade: "When you have such quality individuals (like Pelley and Fraser) who've given you so much each and every day in practice and in the locker room as support, you try and do the best for them. This is a win situation for both teams. They're getting two role players who will be tremendous for them and we're getting a player who has tremendous upside in the role we see that he'll fit."[1]

A free agent with the 2012 NHL lock-out in place, Pelley signed midway into the 2012–13 season to a professional try-out contract with the Ducks' affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL on November 23, 2012.[2]

After the season with the Admirals, Pelley signed a one-year deal worth $550,000 to return to the New Jersey Devils. He played the next four seasons leading the Devils AHL affiliate in Albany.

As a free agent, Pelly opted to continue in the AHL signing a one-year deal with the Stockton Heat and agreeing to an invite to participate with NHL affiliate, the Calgary Flames training camp. On September 19, 2017, Pelley was re-assigned by the Flames to the Heat.[3]

After a solitary season with the Heat, Pelley left North America as a free agent, securing a one-year contract with Danish club, SønderjyskE Ishockey of the Metal Ligaen on July 24, 2018.[4] Pelley continued his European career the following season, playing with Romanian club, HSC Csíkszereda of the Erste Liga.

Having played 14 professional seasons, Pelley announced his retirement from hockey in September 2020.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 54 14 21 35 31
2001–02 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 37 21 35 56 33
2001–02 Vernon Vipers BCHL 19 10 8 18 29
2002–03 Ohio State University CCHA 43 8 3 11 26
2003–04 Ohio State University CCHA 42 10 12 22 38
2004–05 Ohio State University CCHA 41 22 19 41 54
2005–06 Ohio State University CCHA 39 7 7 14 42
2006–07 Lowell Devils AHL 65 17 12 29 35
2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 9 0 0 0 0
2007–08 New Jersey Devils NHL 58 2 4 6 19
2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 11 2 1 3 18
2008–09 Lowell Devils AHL 75 15 23 38 78
2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 63 2 8 10 40 3 0 0 0 2
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 3 7 10 27
2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 0 0 0 7
2011–12 Anaheim Ducks NHL 45 2 1 3 9
2012–13 Norfolk Admirals AHL 60 3 7 10 34
2013–14 Albany Devils AHL 74 13 7 20 55 4 0 0 0 2
2014–15 Albany Devils AHL 70 7 6 13 65
2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 65 8 5 13 40 11 2 0 2 0
2016–17 Albany Devils AHL 71 6 7 13 34 4 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Stockton Heat AHL 65 4 4 8 30
2018–19 SønderjyskE DEN 29 7 11 18 22 14 2 2 4 6
2019–20 HSC Csíkszereda Erste 44 17 11 28 12
NHL totals 256 9 20 29 102 3 0 0 0 2

Awards and honours

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Award Year
College
CCHA All-Tournament Team 2004 [6]
All-CCHA Second Team 2004–05 [7]

References

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  1. ^ Chere, Rich (2011-12-12). "Devils trade Rod Pelley, Mark Fraser to Ducks for Kurtis Foster and goalie". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  2. ^ "Admirals sign Pelley to P.T.O". Norfolk Admirals. 2012-11-23. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  3. ^ "Flames reduce roster by 21". Calgary Flames. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  4. ^ "Sonderjyske secure services of former NHL player Rod Pelley" (in Danish). SønderjyskE Ishockey. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  5. ^ Ohio State Buckeyes (September 4, 2020). "Rod Pelley announces retirement". Twitter. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "2012–13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  7. ^ "All-CCHA Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
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