Position Goaltender NHL Draft Undrafted Height 1.65 m Spouse Lynn Pang National team Canada Role Television personality Career end 1989 | Played for Chicago Blackhawks Name Darren Pang Career start 1984 Caught Left Playing career Weight 70 kg | |
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Born February 17, 1964 (age 60)
Meaford, ON, CAN ( 1964-02-17 ) Similar People Nick Kypreos, Glenn Healy, Corey Hirsch Profiles | ||
Darren Pang Losin it on NHL Network
Darren Robert "Panger" Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89).
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He is currently a hockey media personality with the St. Louis Blues, and also does occasional work on nationally televised hockey broadcasts. He is good friends with former long-time Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman.
Playing career
Pang grew up playing hockey in Nepean, Ontario for the Nepean Raiders. As a youth, he played alongside many future NHLers, including Doug Smith, Dan Quinn and Steve Yzerman.
Pang played in many minor hockey tournaments as a youth goalie. He played for the West Ottawa Golden Knights alongside former NHLer Dan Quinn, in the Quebec Pee Wee Tournament, and for the Nepean Raiders Major Midget team that represented Ontario in the Air Canada Cup as a 15-year-old.
He was the first goalie drafted by the expansion Belleville Bulls, winning their first ever game in the OHL. He was traded to the Ottawa 67's, where he won the Memorial Cup in 1984, while garnering the Top goalie and All-Star team awards.
Standing 5'5", Pang was the 2nd shortest goalie behind only Roy "Shrimp" Worters to play in the NHL, and was often humorously considered to have a "sixth hole" above his head. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1988, and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the year, won by Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk. His first win was recorded on October 18, 1987 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Pang was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks on August 15, 1984. He also set a Blackhawks goaltender's record with six assists in the 1987–1988 NHL season, and had 9 points in his brief NHL career. Pang suffered a career-ending knee injury on September 21, 1990, during training camp. During his playing career, he was known to vomit before each game, as Glenn Hall had.
Broadcast career
Today, Pang is a "Inside the Glass" reporter for the St. Louis Blues on Fox Sports Midwest and a part time analyst for Sportsnet. He has also been an "Inside the Glass" reporter for regular season and playoff action for the NHL on NBC. Pang also contributes to Home Ice, XM Satellite Radio's all-hockey channel. Before joining the Blues, he was the color commentator for the Phoenix Coyotes and a part time analyst for TSN. On July 9, 2009, it was announced that he would be the color commentator for the St. Louis Blues TV broadcasts, with former color man Bernie Federko, who moved between the benches, while John Kelly and Pang work together in the broadcast booth.
Previously, Pang was a top analyst for ESPN National Hockey Night and NHL on ABC for 13 seasons and has broadcast over 95 Stanley Cup Finals games on national TV. He has worked as an analyst for three Winter Olympics. On CBS for the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, he was assigned as the first Olympic reporter that received full access "between the benches" with no glass separating him from the benches. He also worked as an on ice analyst/reporter in 2002 for NBC and in 2010 he worked as a studio analyst for CTV/TSN alongside Bob McKenzie, Nick Kypreos, Daren Millard and James Duthie.