Christopher Ryan Conner (born December 23, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Chris Conner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.JPG) Conner with the Penguins in 2011. | |||
| Born |
December 23, 1983 Westland, Michigan, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Dallas Stars Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Red Wings Phoenix Coyotes Washington Capitals | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2006–2020 | ||
Early life
editConner grew up in Westland, Michigan and attended Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan.[citation needed] He lived in the same neighbourhood as current Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler, and the two grew up together playing hockey since childhood.[citation needed] As a youth, he played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Little Caesars minor ice hockey team.[1]
Playing career
editUndrafted, Chris Conner played four seasons of collegiate hockey for Michigan Tech of the WCHA from 2002 to 2006. One of his teammates there was John Scott, who would also play in the NHL.[2] After his senior year, Conner made his professional debut with the Iowa Stars of the AHL at the end of the 2005–06 season.[citation needed]
On July 13, 2006, Conner signed as a free agent to a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[3] Conner was then assigned to affiliate Iowa for the start of the 2006–07 season, but upon being recalled, scored his first NHL goal during a game against the Colorado Avalanche on December 27, 2006. Conner was re-signed by the Stars at the end of the 2007–08 season to a one-year deal on March 12, 2008.[4]
After splitting the 2008–09 season between the Stars and the Peoria Rivermen, Conner signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh Penguins on July 7, 2009.[5] Conner appeared in 60 games during the 2010–11 NHL season with Pittsburgh, scoring seven goals with nine assists. He scored the Penguins second goal in an 8–2 loss in Game 5 of Pittsburgh's first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Conner failed to convert on a penalty shot during the second period of the next game, losing the puck off his stick as he advanced towards Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson. Pittsburgh ultimately lost the series in seven games.[citation needed]
On July 7, 2011, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[6]
In the following 2012–13 season, Conner signed with the Phoenix Coyotes on a one-year contract. With the lockout in effect, he was directly assigned to the AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He was recalled by the Coyotes to help their playoff push, appearing in 12 games to score 2 points, before being returned to Portland before the end of their season.[7]
On July 5, 2013, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract to return with the Pittsburgh Penguins that was to pay him $550,000 at the NHL level.[8]
On July 1, 2014, Conner continued his journeyman career in signing a one-year two-way contract with the Washington Capitals.[9] A year later Conner signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[10] He led the scoring in the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms during the 2015-16 season with 55 points.[11]
As a free agent following the completion of his contract with the Flyers, Conner opted to continue his tenure with the Phantoms in agreeing to a two-year AHL deal on July 6, 2017.[12]
After four seasons with the Phantoms, Conner left the club as a free agent, continuing in the AHL in securing a one-year contract with the Binghamton Devils, affiliate to the New Jersey Devils, on July 17, 2019.[13]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Chicago Freeze | NAHL | 56 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Freeze | NAHL | 30 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Compuware Ambassadors | NAHL | 19 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 38 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 38 | 25 | 14 | 39 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 37 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 38 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Iowa Stars | AHL | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Iowa Stars | AHL | 48 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Iowa Stars | AHL | 55 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 30 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 38 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 59 | 19 | 37 | 56 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 60 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 57 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 60 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 17 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 19 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 61 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 58 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 70 | 22 | 34 | 56 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 65 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 72 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 53 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022 | Team Carbonneau | 3ICE | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 180 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 38 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-WCHA Second Team | 2003–04 | [citation needed] |
References
edit- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Branch, John (April 4, 2016). "Coming In From the Cold: John Scott Is Joining the Canadiens". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ "Stars sign LW Chris Conner". Dallas Stars. July 13, 2006. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
- ^ "Stars sign three players to contracts". Dallas Stars. March 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Penguins sign Conner, Lee". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- ^ "Wings sign Penguin Chris Conner to one-year contract". dailytribune.com. July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- ^ "Coyotes assign Bolduc, Conner and Stone to Pirates". Phoenix Coyotes. April 2, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ "Penguins Sign Forward Chris Conner". National Hockey League. Pittsburgh Penguins. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ "Capitals add two Penguins defencemen in free agency". The Washington Post. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- ^ "Flyers sign C Tim Brent, RW Chris Connor, D Davis Drewiske". Philadelphia Flyers. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "Chris Conner Phantoms profile". Lehigh Valley Phantoms. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ "Phantoms sign 5 players to AHL contracts". Lehigh Valley Phantoms. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ "Devils sign forward Chris Conner to AHL contract". Binghamton Devils. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Pens Universe interviews Chris Conner