Ex-Canucks star Ronning getting into coaching with junior hockey team
The BCHL’s Power River Kings are adding a former member of the Vancouver Canucks to their coaching staff.
Cliff Ronning will join the Kings behind the bench as an assistant coach.
The 58-year-old played 1,137 games in the NHL and finished with 869 points. He spent six seasons with the Canucks in the 1990s, scoring 328 points in 366 games.
The Burnaby-born Ronning was a fan favourite and remains popular among Canucks fans to this day. He played a major role on the team that lost in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup finals.
The Kings’ current head coach, Glenn Anderson, played for the New York Rangers team that defeated Ronning and the Vancouver Canucks in that series.
“Glenn and Cliff worked in hockey lockstep like I’ve never seen before. The opportunity presented and I began serious discussions about an increased presence and role for Cliff immediately,” said Powell River Kings President Stephan Seeger Sr. “Glenn was certainly a catalyst in the convincing, but I think Powell River’s small market charm and the warm welcome sealed the deal.”
Ronning has been working with the Kings since December as a skills coach but now joins the staff full-time.
The Kings are last in the BCHL’s Central Division with just 21 points in 37 games.
Powell River Kings
“This game has given me a lot and I am happy to give back by contributing to player development at the junior level. I have experienced a warm community welcome here in Powell River and I’m sincerely touched by that; now it’s time to go to work and make playoffs. Nothing like playoff hockey,” said Ronning in a statement posted on the Kings’ website.
Cliff’s son, Ty Ronning, is a professional hockey player in Germany and used to play for the Vancouver Giants.