Chad Kilger

Chad Kilger
Kilger (left) alongside Hal Gill in 2008.
Born (1976-11-27) November 27, 1976 (age 48)
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 224 lb (102 kg; 16 st 0 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Winnipeg Jets
Phoenix Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
Edmonton Oilers
Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL draft 4th overall, 1995
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career 1995–2008

Chad William Lawrence Kilger (born November 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for several National Hockey League teams, most recently the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing career

As a youth, Kilger played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Seaway Valley minor ice hockey team from Cornwall, Ontario.[1]

Kilger played two seasons of junior ice hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kingston Frontenacs. He was subsequently drafted fourth overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He made the team that fall, but on 7 February 1996 he was traded with Oleg Tverdovsky and a third-round draft pick to the Winnipeg Jets for Teemu Selänne, Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round draft choice, and subsequently spent most of his playing time with Winnipeg's minor league affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.[citation needed]

Kilger's numbers did not improve until he was acquired by the Chicago Blackhawks. In 86 games in parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks, he scored 36 points. In March 1999, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with Daniel Cleary, Ethan Moreau, and Christian Laflamme for Boris Mironov, Dean McAmmond and Jonas Elofsson, and in December 2000, he was sent to the Montreal Canadiens for Sergei Zholtok. He had early success, but as his ice time dropped so did his point totals. In his first season with the Canadiens he averaged 17:57 in ice time. In March 2004, he was put on waivers and claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[2]

Kilger set the unofficial hockey record for the hardest shot on December 3, 2006, when he was clocked at 106.6 mph (171.6 km/h), beating the old record held by former Sharks defenseman Shawn Heins (106.0 mph; 170.6 km/h). The official NHL record was held at the time by former Washington Capitals defenceman Al Iafrate, whose record was 105.2 mph (169.3 km/h).[3] Kilger's unofficial record was surpassed when Sheldon Souray fired a 106.7 mph (171.7 km/h) shot at the Edmonton Oilers' skills competition in 2009.[4]

Failure to report to Florida

On the NHL trade deadline date, February 26, 2008, the Leafs dealt Kilger to the Florida Panthers for a third-round draft pick. He immediately requested a leave of absence from Panthers' management, which was granted. However, he did not report to the team at the pre-arranged time, and on March 5, the Panthers suspended him indefinitely without pay.[5] Kilger failed to report to training camp at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, and was officially confirmed to be retired on July 10, 2009.[6]

Personal

Kilger and his family currently reside in Cornwall, Ontario, where all three of his children were born.[2] His father, Bob Kilger was a former Liberal member of Parliament and formerly the mayor of the city of Cornwall. Chad was hired as a firefighter for the City of Cornwall post retirement.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1992–93 Cornwall Colts CJHL 55 30 36 66 26 6 0 0 0 0
1993–94 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 66 17 35 52 23 6 7 2 9 8
1994–95 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 65 42 53 95 6 5 2 7 10 0
1995–96 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 45 5 7 12 22 — — — — —
1995–96 Winnipeg Jets NHL 29 2 3 5 12 4 1 0 1 0
1996–97 Springfield Falcons AHL 52 17 28 45 36 16 5 7 12 56
1997–98 Springfield Falcons AHL 35 14 14 28 33 — — — — —
1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 10 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
1997–98 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 22 3 8 11 6 — — — — —
1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 64 14 11 25 30 — — — — —
1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 13 1 1 2 4 4 0 0 0 4
1999–2000 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 3 2 5 18 3 0 0 0 0
1999–2000 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 7 4 2 6 4 — — — — —
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 34 5 2 7 17 — — — — —
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 9 16 25 34 — — — — —
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 75 8 15 23 27 12 0 1 1 9
2002–03 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 9 7 16 21 — — — — —
2003–04 Montreal Canadiens NHL 36 2 2 4 14 — — — — —
2003–04 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 1 1 2 2 13 2 1 3 0
2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 79 17 11 28 63 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 14 14 28 58 — — — — —
2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 53 10 7 17 18 — — — — —
OHL totals 131 59 88 147 118 12 12 4 16 18
NHL totals 690 103 108 211 350 36 3 2 5 18

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  2. ^ a b "Well-travelled Chad Kilger knows all about NHL trading deadline deals". Canadian Press. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2008-02-18.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Weekes, Don (2007). Crease-Crashing Hockey Trivia. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 128. ISBN 9781553653288.
  4. ^ "Souray to showcase his hardest shot" (Press release). National Hockey League. January 20, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "Panthers suspend Kilger without pay". The Canadian Press. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  6. ^ "Feds have bungled gun dispute". Standard-Free Holder. 2009-01-06. Archived from the original on 2009-07-12. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  7. ^ "Ex-Leaf joins fire department". Canoe.ca. 2009-01-06. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Preceded by Anaheim Ducks first round draft pick
1995 		Succeeded by