David Gregory Ling (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian 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 ...

forward. Ling was selected by the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

in the 7th round (179th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Ling played with the

Charlottetown Abbies The Charlottetown Abbies were a Junior "A" team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They played in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. Their home rink from 2003 to 2008 was the MacLauchlan Arena on the campus of UPEI. Before then, it wa ...

for three seasons (starting at age 14) and in his third season the MRJHL as a 17-year-old in 1991–92, as he scored 33 goals, 75 points and 270 PIM in only 30 games. Ling also played eight games with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the OHA, earning 19 points. Ling was drafted in the second round (18th overall) by the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. Ling made his OHL debut during the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

season, as he had 17 goals, 63 points and 275 PIM in 64 games with the Kingston Frontenacs and was voted onto the second all rookie team. Ling had a solid playoffs with Kingston, as he had 15 points in 16 games, helping the club to the third round of the post-season. In the 1993–94 season, Ling improved his numbers, scoring 37 goals and 77 points in 61 games, as well as accumulating 254 PIM (led the league in PIMs). Ling then chipped in with six points in six playoff games for the Frontenacs. Ling saw his numbers explode during the 1994–95, as he finished second in the league with 135 points, as he scored an OHL high 61 goals, along with 74 assists, helping lead the Frontenacs to best record in the East Division. Ling continued his dominance in the playoffs, scoring seven goals and 15 points in only six games despite playing with a broken thumb. In spite of his efforts, the Frontenacs were upset in the first round. Ling was awarded the

Red Tilson Trophy The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the O ...

, awarded to the most outstanding player in the OHL, the

Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy The Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League since 1972, to the right winger who scores the most points in the regular season. The Peterborough Petes donated the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy in his memory to the top s ...

, which is awarded to the highest scoring right winger in the OHL, as well as

CHL Player of the Year The CHL Player of the Year award is given out annually to the player judged to be the most outstanding in the Canadian Hockey League. It is selected from three most valuable players of the respective leagues; the Red Tilson Trophy of Ontario Hock ...

. Ling would eventually see his number 17 raised to the rafters, as the Frontenacs honoured his number.

Professional

Quebec Nordiques

Ling was drafted by the

in the seventh round, 179th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. On June 21, 1995, Ling would have his rights transferred to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

as the Nordiques relocated to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to begin play in 1995–96. He would not stay in Colorado for very long, as on July 7, 1995, the Avalanche traded Ling and Colorado's ninth round draft pick in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. ...

to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

for the Flames' ninth round draft pick in the same draft.

Calgary Flames

Ling made his professional hockey debut with the

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint J ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) during the 1995–96 season, scoring 24 goals and 56 points in 75 games with Saint John, while registering 179 PIM. Ling then appeared in nine playoff games for Saint John, earning five assists. He began the 1996–97 season with Saint John once again, however, Ling appeared in only five games, getting two assists. On October 24, 1996, Calgary traded Ling and the Flames' sixth round draft pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

for Scott Fraser.

Montreal Canadiens

Ling would continue the 1996–97 season with the

Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1990 to 1999, and we ...

of the AHL, where he scored 22 goals, 58 points and 240 PIM in 48 games. Ling also made his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

debut during the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, going pointless in two games with the

. Ling began the 1997–98 season with Fredericton once again, where in 67 games, he had 25 goals and 66 points. Ling also appeared in one game with Montreal, where he did not earn a point. On March 14, 1998, the Canadiens traded Ling to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

for

Martin Gendron Martin Gendron (born February 15, 1974) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward. Biography Gendron was born in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1988 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice ho ...

Chicago Blackhawks

Ling finished out the 1997–98 season with the

Indianapolis Ice The Indianapolis Ice were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, that played in the International Hockey League from 1988 to 1999 and in the Central Hockey League from 1999 to 2004. Their original home arena ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL), where he had 14 points in 12 games, then earning five points in five playoff games. On September 3, 1998, Ling signed with the

Kansas City Blades The Kansas City Blades were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1990 until 2001, when the league folded. The Blades were based in Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena. Team history Russ and Diane Pa ...

of the IHL, however, the Blackhawks retained his NHL rights. He had a very solid 1998–99 season in Kansas City, scoring 30 goals and 72 points in 82 games, however, he recorded only a goal in three playoff games with the Blades. Ling returned to Kansas City for the 1999–2000 season, as he had an even better season with the Blades, recording 35 goals and 83 points in 82 games. On August 11, 2000, the Blackhawks traded Ling to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

for future considerations.

Dallas Stars

Ling was sent to the

' IHL affiliate for the 2000–01 season, where he struggled offensively, as his numbers dropped to 15 goals and 43 points in 79 games with the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

. On July 7, 2001, Ling left the Stars as a free agent, as he signed with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

Columbus Blue Jackets

Ling spent most of the 2001–02 season with the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, where he had 19 goals and 60 points in 71 games. In the playoffs, he had 10 points in 10 games. Ling also returned to the NHL in 2001–02, where he played in five games with the

, earning no points while having seven minutes in penalties. Ling played a majority of the 2002–03 season with Syracuse, as he had 41 points in 46 games. He was then called up to Columbus, where he finished the

with the Blue Jackets, earning five points in 35 games. The 2003–04 season was spent mostly in Columbus, where Ling appeared in 50 games, earning three points and 98 PIM. Ling also appeared in 14 games with Syracuse, where he had seven goals and 17 points, before adding an assist in seven playoff games. On July 29, 2004, Ling signed with 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 ...

as a free agent.

Toronto Maple Leafs

With the 2004–05 NHL lockout cancelling the NHL season, Ling spent the entire

with the

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

of the AHL, where he had 28 goals and 88 points in 80 games good for third in the AHL scoring race behind only Mike Cammalleri and Jason Spezza. Ling then added two points and 43 PIM in five playoff games. Ling left the Maple Leafs organization after only one season, as he signed with

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

of the

Russian Super League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

(RSL).

Russian Super League

Ling played the 2005–06 season with

of the RSL, where he led the team with 15 goals and 32 points in 50 games. He then added two goals and three points in three playoff games. In 2006–07, Ling moved to

HC Dynamo Moscow HC Dynamo Moscow () is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League. Dynamo has won the Gagarin Cup twice, in 2011–12 KHL season, 2011–12 and 2012–13 KHL ...

, where he had 26 points in 42 games, followed by three points in three playoff games.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ling returned to North America on July 9, 2007, when he signed with the

once again. He spent the entire 2007–08 season with the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

of the AHL, where he scored 17 goals and 59 points in 71 games. Ling had a solid playoff run with the Marlies, earning 14 points in 17 games.

Europe

Ling left for Europe for the 2008–09 season, as he played for EHC Biel of

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

, where he had 22 points in 33 games. Ling then moved to

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its h ...

of the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

, as he earned 13 points in 23 games. He played for Jokerit in the playoffs, earning three points in five games.

= KHL

= Ling returned to Russia and played for two seasons with the KHL team Amur Khabarovsk. He led the team in scoring the first year and mid way thru the 2010-2011 year he returned to the AHL with the Boston Bruins farm the Providence Bruins.

= Europe

= Ling returned to Europe and headed to Italy with HC Pustertal and led the Italian league in scoring in 2011-12. The 2012-13 season saw Ling head to England and won the triple with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL. Ling took away the league MVP and top scorer that year, he also earned his MBA at Derby University. Ling didn't start playing the 2013-14 season until January, where he went back to Italy, again with HC Pustertal and put impressive numbers in the remaining games and into the playoffs.

= ECHL

= Ling returned to North America for the 2014-15 season with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL at 40 years old. He was called up the Edmonton Oilers farm team, Oklahoma Barons of the AHL, where he scored 1 goal in 3 games.

= Europe

= Ling headed back to England to start the season with the Nottingham Panthers before returning to the ECHL and Brampton Beast in January of 2016.

= ECHL

= Ling played his final two seasons (2016-2018) of professional hockey in the ECHL with the Brampton Beast. He was the second oldest active professional player behind Jaromir Jagr. Ling never formally retired but didnt play another pro game after the 2018, but he played senior with the Hamilton Steelhawks in search of an Allan Cup.

Personal

Ling's brother,

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

, played seven years of professional hockey.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, David 1975 births Living people Amur Khabarovsk players Brampton Beast players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Columbus Blue Jackets players EHC Biel players Fredericton Canadiens players HC Dynamo Moscow players HC Spartak Moscow players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Indianapolis Ice players Jokerit players Kansas City Blades players Kingston Frontenacs players Maritime Junior Hockey League players Montreal Canadiens players Nottingham Panthers players Oklahoma City Barons players Providence Bruins players HC Pustertal Wölfe players Quebec Nordiques draft picks Saint John Flames players St. John's Maple Leafs players Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Syracuse Crunch players Toronto Marlies players Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States