Rumun Ndur

Rumun Ndur (born July 7, 1975) is a Nigerian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Ndur played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Rangers, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Ndur was the first Nigerian-born player to play in the NHL. He was born in Nigeria but grew up in Hearst, Ontario.

Playing career Ndur moved to Union, Ontario (near London) and played minor hockey for the St. Thomas Travelers. Ndur played for the Belmont Pests Jr.D. (1990–91) and Clearwater Steeplejacks Jr.C. (1991–92) clubs of the Ontario Hockey Association. Ndur was drafted in the ninth round (129th overall) by the Guelph Storm in the 1992 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection.

He was drafted by the Sabres in the 1994 NHL entry draft in the third round, 69th overall. In 1996 he won the Calder Cup with the Rochester Americans. He made his NHL debut in 1996–97 with the Sabres. In 1998–99 he was traded to the New York Rangers and just a year later he was traded to Atlanta, and played 27 games with them during the 1999–2000 NHL season. Ndur played a total of 69 games in the NHL, scoring 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) with 137 penalty minutes.

At the end of the 2005-06 season Ndur signed with HK Jesenice of the Slovenian Ice Hockey League, thus becoming first African to play for a team in Slovenia. He played 14 games, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists and also amassing 79 penalty minutes. He had a memorable fight with Boštjan Groznik, a tough enforcer. That season Ndur won the Slovenian Championship.

With the Coventry Blaze Ndur played just two games of the 2007–08 season before suffering from a neck injury, ruling him out for the season. In May 2008, Ndur was released by Coventry. Ndur went on to sign with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL for the 2008-09 season before returning to North America to sign with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League before retiring.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Belmont Bombers SOJHL 36 3 11 14 70 — — — — — 1991–92 Sarnia Bees WOJHL 30 2 5 7 46 — — — — — 1991–92 Clearwater Steeplejacks GLJCHL 4 0 4 4 4 — — — — — 1992–93 Guelph Storm OHL 22 1 3 4 30 4 0 1 1 4 1992–93 Guelph Holody Platers MWJHL 24 7 8 15 202 — — — — — 1993–94 Guelph Storm OHL 61 6 33 39 176 9 4 1 5 24 1994–95 Guelph Storm OHL 63 10 21 31 187 14 0 4 4 28 1995–96 Rochester Americans AHL 73 2 12 14 306 17 1 2 3 33 1996–97 Rochester Americans AHL 68 5 11 16 282 10 3 1 4 21 1996–97 Buffalo Sabres NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1997–98 Rochester Americans AHL 50 1 12 13 207 4 0 2 2 16 1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1998–99 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 6 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 0 0 0 16 — — — — — 1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 31 1 3 4 46 — — — — — 1999–00 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 27 1 0 1 71 — — — — — 2000–01 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 16 0 0 0 50 — — — — — 2000–01 Norfolk Admirals AHL 21 1 2 3 93 9 1 0 1 26 2001–02 Norfolk Admirals AHL 52 4 9 13 133 2 0 0 0 2 2002–03 Graz 99ers EBEL 31 3 11 14 128 — — — — — 2003–04 Columbus Cottonmouths ECHL 70 8 9 17 241 — — — — — 2004–05 Danbury Trashers UHL 46 3 9 12 289 — — — — — 2005–06 Kalamazoo Wings UHL 17 0 1 1 57 — — — — — 2005–06 HK Jesenice SLO 14 2 3 5 79 — — — — — 2006–07 Coventry Blaze EIHL 64 12 12 24 221 — — — — — 2007–08 Coventry Blaze EIHL 2 0 1 1 6 3 1 0 1 6 2008–09 Nottingham Panthers EIHL 34 2 3 5 191 — — — — — AHL totals 272 13 47 60 1025 42 5 5 10 98 NHL totals 69 2 3 5 137 — — — — —