Chris Nielsen

Chris Nielsen (born February 16, 1980) is a Tanzanian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Nielsen was drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1998 NHL entry draft. He played parts of two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nielsen was born in Tanzania while his Canadian father was stationed there working for the Canadian International Development Agency. His family moved back to Canada when he was three, and he grew up on a farm near the small town of Goodlands, Manitoba.

Playing career Nielsen played junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. He was a member of the 1998–99 team that won the President's Cup, and got within a game of winning the Memorial Cup. He won the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy in 1999–2000 as the WHL's Humanitarian of the Year.

Nielsen turned pro in 2000, playing three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, earning two callups to the Blue Jackets during that time. He then bounced around between the Chicago Wolves, Manitoba Moose and San Antonio Rampage of the AHL and the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League before heading to Europe to play in Germany in 2005–06. Nielsen retired from professional hockey in 2006.

After retiring from hockey, Nielsen went back to school at the University of Manitoba and was the colour commentator for the Manitoba Moose at their home games. He then completed undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at the University of Calgary, graduating from the Cumming School of Medicine in 2012 and completing his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2017. Dr. Nielsen then moved to Toronto for fellowship, completing his training in complex spinal surgery at Toronto Western Hospital in 2018, at which time he transitioned into the role of Clinical Associate. He is now an Attending Surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1995–96 Calgary Hitmen WHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1996–97 Calgary Hitmen WHL 62 11 19 30 39 — — — — — 1997–98 Calgary Hitmen WHL 68 22 29 51 31 18 2 4 6 10 1998–99 Calgary Hitmen WHL 70 22 24 46 45 21 11 5 16 28 1999–00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 62 38 31 69 86 13 14 9 23 20 2000–01 Syracuse Crunch AHL 47 10 11 21 24 5 2 2 4 4 2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 29 4 5 9 4 — — — — — 2001–02 Syracuse Crunch AHL 47 12 12 24 18 10 2 2 4 2 2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 23 2 3 5 4 — — — — — 2002–03 Syracuse Crunch AHL 19 1 3 4 8 — — — — — 2002–03 Chicago Wolves AHL 18 3 4 7 4 — — — — — 2002–03 Manitoba Moose AHL 33 3 10 13 13 14 1 2 3 16 2003–04 Manitoba Moose AHL 72 4 7 11 21 — — — — — 2004–05 Laredo Bucks CHL 7 0 4 4 4 — — — — — 2004–05 San Antonio Rampage AHL 54 8 8 16 20 — — — — — 2005–06 Kassel Huskies DEL 38 4 11 15 32 — — — — — NHL totals 52 6 8 14 8 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1999 Canada WJC 2 1 0 1 4 2000 Canada WJC 7 3 0 3 8 Junior totals 9 4 0 4 12

Awards and honours 1999 - WHL Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy 2000 - WHL Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy. 2000 - WHL Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Transactions June 27, 1998 - Drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1998 NHL entry draft. May 11, 2000 - Traded by the New York Islanders to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Blue Jackets' 4th round selection (Jonas Rönnqvist) and 9th round selection (Dmitri Altarev) in the 2000 NHL entry draft. December 2, 2002 - Traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets with Petteri Nummelin to the Atlanta Thrashers for Tomi Kallio and Pauli Levokari. January 20, 2003 - Traded by the Atlanta Thrashers with Chris Herperger to the Vancouver Canucks for Jeff Farkas.