Robert John Rouse (born June 18, 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning in back to back years with the Detroit Red Wings in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Playing career

A prototypical stay-at-home defenceman, Rouse was drafted in 1982 by the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

. After playing parts of six seasons with the North Stars, Rouse was traded to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

at the trade deadline of the 1988–89 NHL season in the deal that also sent

Dino Ciccarelli Dino Ciccarelli (born February 8, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, primarily with the Minnesota North Stars, but also notably with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he h ...

to the Capitals. His steady and tough style of defensive play helped guide the Capitals to their first semifinals appearance, in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. During the middle of the 1990–91 season he was traded to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, along with Peter Zezel, in exchange for

Al Iafrate Albert Anthony Iafrate ( ; born March 21, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League between 1984 and 1998. He is perhaps most famous for his extremely hard slapshot. He set a record f ...

. Rouse joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1994 as a free agent, and helped them in two of their Stanley Cup wins (

and

), one of which involved topping one of his former clubs, the Capitals. Rouse moved on to play with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in 1998–99 and retired during the 1999–2000 season after the Sharks released him. In 1,061 NHL games, Rouse had 37 goals, 181 assists, and 1,559 penalty minutes. He served as a full-time alternate captain with the Maple Leafs, and as part-time alternate captain with the Capitals and Red Wings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

* WHL Second All-Star Team – 1983 * WHL East First All-Star Team – 1984

References

External links

* 1964 births Billings Bighorns players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Detroit Red Wings players Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Lethbridge Broncos players Living people Minnesota North Stars draft picks Minnesota North Stars players Nanaimo Islanders players San Jose Sharks players Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Washington Capitals players Ice hockey people from British Columbia {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1960s-stub