Clayton Stoner

Clayton Stoner (born February 19, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, by the Minnesota Wild at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Amateur

Stoner played junior B for the Campbell River Storm of the VIJHL and junior A for the Powell River Kings of the BCHL He then played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the Tri-City Americans from 2003–04 to 2004–05. Prior to the beginning of the latter playing season, on June 26, 2004, Stoner was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the 79th pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Professional

Stoner began his professional playing career with the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Wild, the Houston Aeros, where he played for four-and-a-half seasons.

Stoner during his tenure with the Wild.

He eventually made his NHL debut in the 2009–10 season, playing in eight games and registering two assists and 12 penalty minutes. Stoner became an NHL regular beginning in the 2010–11 season, where he participated in 57 games for Minnesota. That season, he scored his first career NHL goal on January 4, 2011, against Johan Hedberg of the New Jersey Devils.

Stoner made headlines in 2014 in a fight against the Edmonton Oilers' Luke Gazdic, where Stoner had his finger in a "L"-shape, apparently dislocated. Nevertheless, Stoner was able to return to game with his finger taped up heavily, nearly engaging in another fight with Matt Hendricks, though the linesman separated the two before any punches were thrown.

On March 18, 2014, Stoner scored his fourth career NHL goal on a breakaway against the New York Islanders. Emerging out of the penalty box as his boarding penalty expired, Wild captain Mikko Koivu sprung him on a breakaway, where Stoner made a deke and slipped the puck past Islanders goaltender Anders Nilsson into the net for his first goal of the season – and his first in nearly two years – to give the Wild a 4–0 lead in an eventual 6–0 win.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Stoner played for HC ’05 Banská Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, tallying five points.

On July 1, 2014, Stoner signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks on a four-year, $13 million contract.

Stoner made headlines in May 2013 after pictures taken of him on a hunting trip in British Columbia surfaced online, where during the trip, he killed a grizzly bear. The bear had been known affectionately as "Cheeky" to local First Nations people. Although Stoner has claimed that hunt was legal, the incident has aroused controversy, as Stoner left the carcass after skinning the bear and removing its hide, as per local hunting regulations. Only residents of British Columbia can receive a license to hunt grizzlies; at the time, Stoner lived for the majority of the year in Minnesota whilst playing for the Wild. ESPN states: He is accused of two counts of knowingly making a false statement to obtain a hunting license. Court documents show the statements were made in his hometown of Port McNeill in May 2013, when he played for the Minnesota Wild.

Stoner faces separate counts of hunting out of season, hunting without a license and unlawfully possessing dead wildlife related to the shooting of a bear near Bella Bella. A picture, released by Stoner via social media, circulated, showing Stoner proudly sporting the beheaded bear. Stoner has been found guilty according to a trial in Abbotsford, BC on Wednesday, January 27, 2016. In defense of his actions, Stoner released a public statement stating that he and his family "enjoy" killing large game species as a group activity.