Adam Pardy

Adam Pardy (born March 29, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators. He also played in the Swedish Hockey League for Frölunda HC. He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round, 173rd overall, at the 2004 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Junior Pardy was selected by the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2002, but was unable to earn a spot on Halifax's deep roster. As a result, he began the 2002–03 season in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League playing first for the Yarmouth Mariners and then the Antigonish Bulldogs. His QMJHL rights were traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in January 2003, but the Bulldogs refused to release him at first as they wished to keep him for their own playoff run. His selection at the age of 20 was unusual, as it came two years after most players are drafted and was his third time through the draft after being passed over in 2002 and 2003. He found greater success in Las Vegas, scoring his first professional goal and adding 11 assists in 41 games. scoring two goals and six assists.

Entering his third season of professional hockey in 2007–08, Pardy continued to impress the Flames organization with his development, and while he did not make the team out of training camp, he was one of the final cuts. He joined the Quad City Flames for the season, and was briefly recalled to Calgary in December 2007 as an injury replacement, but did not appear in any games with the Flames. He finished the season in Quad City, scoring five goals and 18 points in 65 games, and played in the 2008 AHL All-Star Game. and made the team out of camp. Pardy made his NHL debut in the team's season opener on October 9, 2008. He played just under eight minutes in a 6–0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. In doing so, he became the first former Las Vegas Wranglers skater to play an NHL game. Pardy was used sparingly early in the season, but gained a full-time spot in the lineup in November when Jim Vandermeer suffered a broken ankle.

He scored his first NHL point, an assist, in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on December 12, 2008. Against the New York Islanders on January 8, 2009, he scored his first career goal. Pardy finished his rookie season with 60 games played, one goal and nine assists. He also appeared in six playoff games. The Flames made re-signing him a priority, agreeing to a two-year, US$1.4 million contract that was worth less than he might have received on the open market.

Despite a slow start at training camp, Pardy retained his position as the team's sixth defenceman entering the 2009–10 season. and was left as the seventh defenceman late in the year after the Flames acquired Steve Staios. He finished his second NHL season with two goals and seven assists in 57 games. an injury that caused him to miss the first two months of the season. He also missed the last two months of the season with an upper body injury.

An unrestricted free agent, Pardy left the Flames after the 2010–11 season and signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Dallas Stars. He began the season on injured reserve after suffering a rib injury in the pre-season, and spent much of the season out of the Stars' lineup. He finished the 2011–12 season with three assists in 36 games played.

Pardy played only one season in Dallas, as he was included in a July 2, 2012 trade that also sent Steve Ott to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Derek Roy. Pardy split the lockout-shortened season between Buffalo and the AHL's Rochester Americans. He had two goals and seven assists in 21 AHL games, and added four assists in 17 games in Buffalo. One of his most notable games that season was against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 6, 2013, when Pardy went through the glass after a bodycheck from Brandon Bollig. A fan ripped off Pardy's helmet and put it on his head, while his female companion appeared to dump beer on Pardy. Pardy would go on to sign a one-year, $1,000,000 extension for the Jets, on July 1, 2015.

During the 2015–16 season, having played sparingly in 14 games with the Jets, Pardy was placed on waivers and claimed by the Edmonton Oilers on February 29, 2016. Pardy appeared in 9 further games with the Oilers for 3 assists.

As a free agent in the off-season, Pardy was unable to attain an NHL contract. On September 8, 2016, Pardy agreed to attend the Florida Panthers training camp on a professional try-out contract. Following his release from his professional tryout, Pardy signed with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the AHL affiliate of the Panthers. Prior to the beginning the 2016–17 season, Pardy was traded by the Thunderbirds to the Milwaukee Admirals for three minor-leaguers on October 24, 2016. On December 1, 2016, Pardy returned to the NHL as he was signed to a one-year contract with the Admirals NHL affiliate, the Nashville Predators.

Pardy as a free agent belatedly spent the remainder of the 2017–18 season abroad, playing with Swedish club Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), appearing in just 11 games for 1 assist. Returning to North America in the following off-season, Pardy signed for the inaugural season of hometown club, the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL on September 7, 2018. The Growlers went on to win the Kelly Cup and Pardy announced his retirement at the conclusion of the season.

Playing style Pardy is not an offensive defenceman, instead focusing his play on preventing his opposition from scoring. His defensive partner, Cory Sarich, praised his calm demeanor heading into the 2009–10 season. He also plays a physical game, recording 77 hits in 60 games as a rookie, including a check on Jared Boll that was described as one of the best of the 2008–09 season.

Personal life Pardy grew up in Bonavista, Newfoundland, a town of about 3,190 people. He comes from a tight-knit family; his parents, Stan and Lorraine, and elder brothers, Neil and Todd, made sacrifices and committed the little money they had towards Pardy's hockey career. His family followed him to Alberta but have since returned home. Pardy's father used to work in construction in Lloydminster, and his brothers are electricians in Calgary. He won a bronze medal with the Canadian team at the 2004 World Ball Hockey Championships in Slovakia.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Central Newfoundland AAA Midget 2002–03 Yarmouth Mariners MHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2002–03 Antigonish Bulldogs MHL 31 5 16 21 42 — — — — — 2002–03 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 7 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 2003–04 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 68 4 12 16 137 5 0 1 1 8 2004–05 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 69 12 27 39 163 5 2 2 4 8 2005–06 Omaha Ak–Sar–Ben Knights AHL 24 0 0 0 18 — — — — — 2005–06 Las Vegas Wranglers ECHL 41 1 11 12 55 10 2 1 3 12 2006–07 Omaha Ak–Sar–Ben Knights AHL 70 2 6 8 60 6 1 1 2 0 2007–08 Quad City Flames AHL 65 5 13 18 67 — — — — — 2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 60 1 9 10 69 6 0 2 2 5 2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 57 2 7 9 48 — — — — — 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 30 1 6 7 24 — — — — — 2011–12 Texas Stars AHL 2 0 4 4 2 — — — — — 2011–12 Dallas Stars NHL 36 0 3 3 16 — — — — — 2012–13 Rochester Americans AHL 21 2 7 9 22 — — — — — 2012–13 Buffalo Sabres NHL 17 0 4 4 14 — — — — — 2013–14 St. John's IceCaps AHL 3 0 0 0 9 — — — — — 2013–14 Winnipeg Jets NHL 60 0 6 6 38 — — — — — 2014–15 Winnipeg Jets NHL 55 0 9 9 40 2 1 0 1 2 2015–16 Winnipeg Jets NHL 14 0 1 1 8 — — — — — 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 9 0 3 3 6 — — — — — 2016–17 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 31 3 4 7 20 3 0 0 0 6 2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 4 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 2017–18 Frölunda HC SHL 11 0 1 1 18 — — — — — 2018–19 Newfoundland Growlers ECHL 41 6 15 21 44 22 0 4 4 32 AHL totals 214 12 34 46 198 9 1 1 2 6 NHL totals 342 4 48 52 269 8 1 2 3 7

Awards and honours Award Year AHL All-Star Game 2008 ECHL Kelly Cup (Newfoundland Growlers) 2019