Robert F. Zamuner (born September 17, 1969) 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 hock ...

forward, who played thirteen seasons in the

NHL 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 ...

, most notably with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

Playing career

Zamuner played junior hockey for the

Guelph Platers The Guelph Platers were a junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They were originally known as the CMC's un ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

and was drafted 45th overall by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

in the

1987 NHL Entry Draft The 1987 NHL Entry Draft was the 25th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, and was the first draft held in the United States. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into pr ...

. He played only briefly for New York, spending more time on their AHL affiliate in

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

. In 1992 he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the expansion

when the Rangers showed little interest in re-signing him. In Tampa he developed a reputation as a competent, hard working, defensive-minded forward, and was named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in 1998. The next year he was traded to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

for Andreas Johansson and the right to sign General Manager

Rick Dudley Richard Clarence Dudley (born January 31, 1949) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive, former coach and former player. Dudley is presently serving as a Senior Advisor for the Florida Panthers. Dudley has previously served as an executiv ...

, who was still serving as GM of the Senators. He played in Ottawa for two seasons, playing regularly on the third line in a defensive role. In 2001, he moved on, signing as a free agent with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Zamuner went to play with HC Basel in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. With his scoring deteriorating, no NHL team was willing to sign him so he stayed in Europe the next season, signing with Bolzano HC in Italy. On June 6, 2006, Zamuner signed to play the remainder of the 2006 season with the

Brisbane Blue Tongues The Gold Coast Blue Tongues (formerly the Brisbane Blue Tongues) was a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Bundall, Queensland, Australia. The team was a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Blue Tongues were founded in ...

of the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The league is run by its own board of ...

, after which he retired. Internationally, Zamuner played twice on Canada's world championship teams. Zamuner's defensive play, along with his exceptional face-off taking ability led to a surprise selection on Canada's 1998 Olympic men's hockey team.

Personal life

Zamuner and his wife, Ann have three children and the family resides in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...

. Zamuner is currently employed with the NHLPA as their ''Atlantic Divisional Representative''.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamuner, Rob 1969 births Living people EHC Basel players Binghamton Rangers players Bolzano HC players Boston Bruins players Brisbane Blue Tongues players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Canadian ice hockey left wingers Flint Spirits players Guelph Platers players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Ottawa Senators players Providence Bruins players Tampa Bay Lightning players Ice hockey people from Ontario Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland