Ben Simon

Benjamin Clarke Simon (born June 14, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets between 2001 and 2006. He was the head coach of the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones for the 2013–14 season, guiding the club to a conference championship. Simon served as an assistant coach for the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies in 2014–15 and the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2015 to 2018. He was then promoted to head coach of the Griffins for the 2018–19 season.

Playing career Simon grew up playing hockey for Shaker Heights High School as well as Team Ohio Midget AAA and the Cleveland Junior Barons. He was drafted 110th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL entry draft and has played 81 games in the NHL with the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring three goals and one assist. In the 2007–08 AHL season, he played for the Springfield Falcons. For the 2008–09 season, Simon played with the Iserlohn Roosters in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In July 2010, he signed up for his first coaching role, as Player/Coach for the Sheffield Steelers in the British Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2010–11 season. After winning the regular season championship with the Steelers, Simon decided not to return to the Steelers for another season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1993–93 Shaker Heights High School HS-OH 25 15 21 36 — — — — — — 1993–94 Shaker Heights High School HS-OH 24 45 41 86 — — — — — — 1994–95 Shaker Heights High School HS-OH 25 61 68 129 — — — — — — 1995–96 Cleveland Jr. Barons NAHL 50 45 46 91 — 5 7 13 20 — 1996–97 University of Notre Dame CCHA 30 4 15 19 79 — — — — — 1997–98 University of Notre Dame CCHA 37 9 28 37 89 — — — — — 1998–99 University of Notre Dame CCHA 37 18 24 42 65 — — — — — 1999–00 University of Notre Dame CCHA 40 13 19 32 53 — — — — — 2000–01 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 77 8 12 20 47 16 6 5 11 20 2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2001–02 Chicago Wolves AHL 74 11 23 34 56 25 2 3 5 24 2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 10 0 1 1 9 — — — — — 2002–03 Chicago Wolves AHL 69 15 17 32 78 9 0 0 0 6 2003–04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 52 3 0 3 28 — — — — — 2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 18 1 3 4 6 — — — — — 2004–05 Chicago Wolves AHL 53 11 10 21 58 18 1 5 6 44 2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 13 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2005–06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 66 13 24 37 93 3 0 1 1 2 2006–07 Syracuse Crunch AHL 56 9 12 21 77 — — — — — 2006–07 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 21 4 5 9 28 7 0 0 0 9 2007–08 Springfield Falcons AHL 80 12 10 22 88 — — — — — 2008–09 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 51 5 10 15 64 — — — — — 2009–10 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 18 4 9 13 16 3 3 0 3 14 2009–10 Toronto Marlies AHL 44 2 6 8 51 — — — — — 2010–11 Sheffield Steelers EIHL 54 21 36 57 62 3 2 0 2 12 AHL totals 481 78 110 188 535 62 3 9 12 85 NHL totals 81 3 1 4 47 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1997 United States WJC 6 0 0 0 4 1998 United States WJC 7 1 3 4 8 Junior totals 13 1 3 4 12

Awards and honors Award Year All-CCHA Second Team 1998–99