The NHL’s Nigerian

Zaria, Nigerian Rumun Ndur

African native Rumun (the “n” is silent) Ndur (En-doo-re) was born in Zaria a major city in Nigeria in July of 1975 then his parents moved to Hearst, Ontario, Canada when he was approximately six to seven years old.

First African-born NHLer Mr. Ndur grew up in Ontario and like most Canadian boys began to skate, play Hockey, and dream of the NHL which occurred for him during the 1994 NHL Entry Draft when the Buffalo Sabres selected Mr. Ndur in the 3rd round 69th overall.

His first stop before the NHL was two solid years in the AHL with the Rochester Americans under HC Tortorella where Mr. Ndur became a Calder Cup Champion in the 1995-96 AHL season while piling up over 300 penalty minutes and picking up the nickname “the Nigerian Nightmare”.

For three seasons Mr. Ndur played 11 games for Buffalo and he finished at +1, 20 PIMs, 1 SOG, and with a 10:58 TOI average, in December 1998 the Sabres lost Mr. Ndur while endeavoring to “sneak him back to Rochester” as the New York Rangers claimed him off waivers.

From 1992 in the OHL until 2009-10 in the IHL, Mr. Ndur played for 16 teams over 9 leagues and won Championships in the AHL and overseas with HK Jesenice in Slovenia and two EIHL Championships with the Coventry Blaze.

If only Mr. Ndur had cleared waivers and remained a Buffalo Sabres defenseman because in the next season, he would have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and who knows maybe he could have checked Mr. Hull out of the blue paint.

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Author: Buffalo Winter

Jesus, Family, Hockey, then everything else.

8 thoughts on “The NHL’s Nigerian”

  1. Interesting read, I had not heard of him before, thanks Buffalo Winter. I wonder what he ended up doing after he left hockey. Playing for 16 teams over 9 leagues…are those numbers typical?

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    1. Thank you P_g, it was interesting researching and reading about him.

      He accepted a post as Head Coach this upcoming GOJHL 2023-24 season with Kokoma Kings

      Playing for as many teams and leagues is not that typical, journeymen players get moved around a lot for example Mr. Tie Domi’s son Max who came into the NHL in 2015 is with his 6th team going into his 8th season, but on the other hand a player like Mr. Perreault played his entire 17 year career in Buffalo.

      Depends on the skill/talent level of the player, certain circumstances personal/professional that causes a rift between a player and a team, sometimes a player could use a fresh start in a new environment, IDK, personally I would have preferred to stay with one team, you know, if I was actually asked to play on one, lol.

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      1. I didn’t recognize that name so looked him up and can now see why you said what you did there. Bit of trivia is that he was born in Ottawa and currently lives in Ottawa.

        I am always impressed with your research.

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      3. Last reply, I promise, I think, lol.

        I have to let you know that I looked up the definition of “journeyman” because I honestly could not remember what it means.

        Have a nice day. It’s raining and thundering here right now.

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      4. Thank You P_g,
        It has been a nice day so far and I hope it continues to be so, some rain, some sun, some clouds, some but not too much.
        I appreciate all your replies.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Check this out (if you haven’t read it another time)! It is a bit dated (2015).

    https://thehockeywriters.com/qa-with-nigerian-born-former-nhler-rumun-ndur/

    Some of his answers:
    I just wanted to stand up on the ice and keep playing the game. [love it!]
    As I got older, my first true inspiration was Wendel Clark. I wore the number 17 whenever I could and tried to look exactly like he did on the ice.
    Most memorable moment in my NHL career is definitely playing in Wayne Gretzky’s last ever game.
    Toughest guy I ever fought was probably big Jim McKenzie. [I looked him up -he played on 8 NHL teams over about a 10-year period]
    Most of my best hockey stories can’t be printed on here, but perhaps over a couple beers sometime I’ll tell you a few. [haha]
    Currently I’m a coach of a AAA hockey team outside of London, Ontario. I’m determined to get back to the NHL as a coach now. It is truly my passion right now.

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    1. Thanks P_g,

      When I was doing my research on Mr. Ndur’s career I had come across a number of articles from that time period.

      He made me laugh talking about stories that cannot be printed, I recently read Mr. Barnaby’s book “Unfiltered”, I can see why some players do not publicize their shenanigans

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