Chris Wells

Chris Wells (born November 12, 1975) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers.

Playing career Wells was playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL when he was drafted in the 1st round, 24th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1994 NHL entry draft. His large size (6'6" 223 lbs) along with a strong physical presence and scoring touch contributed to his high draft choice. For the 1994–1995 season Wells returned to the Thunderbirds and scored 108 points in 68 games while contributing 148 PIMs as well. The following year Wells made his debut in the NHL, appearing in 54 games with the Penguins. Wells began the 1996–97 year with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL when he was traded by the Penguins to the Florida Panthers for Stu Barnes and Jason Woolley. He played 4 years with the Panthers, having his best year during the 1997–98 campaign in which he scored 15 points and appeared in 61 games.

Wells also skated for the New York Rangers and was signed by the Dallas Stars in 2000 . Instead he was sent to the Utah Grizzlies. On November 20, 2002, Wells debuted in the Russian Superleague with the Khabarovsk Amur Tigers and played on a line with former NHL all-star Sergei Krivokrasov. He later played parts of three seasons in Italy, Russia and Denmark.

Wells retired from hockey in 2005.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Calgary Royals AJHL 35 13 14 27 33 — — — — — 1991–92 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 64 13 8 21 80 11 0 0 0 15 1992–93 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 63 18 37 55 111 5 2 3 5 4 1993–94 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 69 30 44 74 150 9 6 5 11 23 1994–95 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 69 45 63 108 148 3 0 1 1 4 1994–95 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 54 2 2 4 59 — — — — — 1996–97 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 15 4 6 10 9 — — — — — 1996–97 Florida Panthers NHL 47 2 6 8 42 3 0 0 0 0 1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 61 5 10 15 47 — — — — — 1998–99 Florida Panthers NHL 20 0 2 2 31 — — — — — 1998–99 Beast of New Haven AHL 9 3 1 4 28 — — — — — 1999–2000 Florida Panthers NHL 13 0 0 0 14 — — — — — 1999–2000 Louisville Panthers AHL 31 8 10 18 20 — — — — — 1999–2000 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 14 2 2 4 6 20 3 4 7 38 2000–01 Utah Grizzlies IHL 43 6 6 12 33 — — — — — 2001–02 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 60 18 31 49 80 — — — — — 2001–02 Portland Pirates AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2002–03 Peoria Rivermen ECHL 9 3 4 7 24 — — — — — 2002–03 Amur Khabarovsk RSL 22 3 5 8 46 — — — — — 2003–04 Milano Vipers ITA 23 17 10 27 59 9 1 8 9 30 2004–05 Rødovre Mighty Bulls DNK 35 11 11 22 75 4 1 2 3 45 IHL totals 61 10 13 23 44 — — — — — NHL totals 195 9 20 29 193 3 0 0 0 0 AHL totals 57 13 13 26 54 20 3 4 7 38

Awards 1995: WHL West First All-Star Team 2000: Calder Cup winner AHL 2004: European championship Italy