Chris Conner
| Chris Conner | |
|---|---|
 Conner with the Penguins in 2011. |
|
| Born | December 23, 1983 Westland, MI, USA |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) |
| Position | Winger |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Pittsburgh Penguins Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Phoenix Coyotes |
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2006–present |
Chris Ryan Conner (born December 23, 1983) is an American professional ice hockey winger. He is currently under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Background[edit]
Conner grew up in Westland, Michigan and attended Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan. He lived in the same neighbourhood as current Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, and the two grew up together playing hockey since childhood.
Playing career[edit]
Undrafted, Chris Conner played four seasons of collegiate hockey for Michigan Tech of the WCHA from 2002 to 2006. After his senior year, Chris made his professional debut with the Iowa Stars of the AHL at the end of the 2005–06 season.
On July 13, 2006, Conner signed as a free agent to a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3] 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 a 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.
On July 7, 2011, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[4]
In the following 2012–13 season, Conner signed with the Phoenix Coyotes on a one-year contract. With the lockout in affect, he was directly assigned to 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.[5]
On July 5, 2013, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract to return with the Pittsburgh Penguins that will pay him $550,000 at the NHL level.[6]
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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 159 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
References[edit]
- ^ "Stars sign LW Chris Conner". Dallas Stars. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Stars sign three players to contracts". Dallas Stars. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Penguins sign Conner, Lee". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ "Wings sign Penguin Chris Conner to one-year contract". dailytribune.com. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "Coyotes assign Bolduc, Conner and Stone to Pirates". Phoenix Coyotes. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
- ^ "Penguins Sign Forward Chris Conner". National Hockey League. Pittsburgh Penguins. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
External links[edit]
- Chris Conner's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Chris Conner's player profile at NHL.com
- Chris Conner's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Pens Universe interviews Chris Conner
- 1983 births
- Living people
- People from Westland, Michigan
- American ice hockey right wingers
- Dallas Stars players
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Grand Rapids Griffins players
- Ice hockey people from Michigan
- Iowa Stars players
- Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players
- Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Portland Pirates players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
