Dennis Gilbert

Dennis Gilbert (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks, 90th overall, in the 2015 NHL entry draft, and has also played for the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators

Early life Gilbert was born on October 30, 1996, to parents Dennis Sr. and Kim Gilbert. Growing up, he refused to play hockey year-round to play lacrosse and football. As a sophomore in high school, he was the backup quarterback to Chad Kelly.

Playing career Amateur Gilbert played junior hockey as a defenseman with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in the Ontario Junior Hockey League before graduating to the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL). In his only season in the USHL in 2014–15, he scored four goals and 23 assists for 27 points in 59 games. While with the Steel, he committed to play college hockey at the University of Notre Dame.

Gilbert joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, originally of the Hockey East conference, for the 2015–16 season. In 37 games, he tallied two goals and ten points. In his sophomore season with the Fighting Irish in 2016–17 he made 40 appearances, recording 22 assists. He was announced as the Hockey East's Best Defensive Defenseman and a Hockey East Third Team All-Star. Gilbert concluded his collegiate career following his junior season with the Fighting Irish in 2017–18, in which he played 39 games, marking four goals and ten points. and advanced to the 2018 Frozen Four championship game, where they lost to Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

Professional Chicago Blackhawks Gilbert was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the third round, 90th overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft. He turned professional after signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on April 14, 2018. He was assigned to Chicago's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for the 2018–19 season. He made 63 appearances with Rockford, marking five goals and 14 points. He made his NHL debut that night in a 4–3 win over the St. Louis Blues. The next day he was sent back to the AHL. He split the 2019–20 season between the AHL and NHL, beginning with Rockford before bouncing between them and Chicago. He recorded his first NHL point on December 12, assisting on Jonathan Toews' second period goal in a 5–2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. He scored his first NHL goal on December 22 in a 5–2 victory over the New York Islanders. He made 30 appearances with Rockford, scoring one goal and seven points and got into 21 games with Chicago with one goal and three points before the NHL suspended play on March 20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado Avalanche Entering the final year of his entry-level deal on October 10, 2020, Gilbert was traded by the Blackhawks, alongside forward Brandon Saad, to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defensemen Anton Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. He began the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season on the Avalanche's taxi squad, considered a member of the team's AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, but remained with the NHL team and could be called into NHL action the same day. He made his Avalanche debut on January 19, 2021, replacing Ian Cole in the lineup after the latter was traded to Minnesota earlier in the day. He played in only three games with Colorado having missed four weeks due to facial reconstruction surgery following a fight with Keegan Kolesar on February 16. He was assigned to the AHL on March 16 and made 17 appearances for the Eagles, tallying one goal and eight points. On August 16, 2021, the Avalanche re-signed Gilbert to a one-year contract. Gilbert failed to make the Avalanche's roster and was placed on waivers to start the season. After going unclaimed, he was assigned to the Eagles for the 2021-22 season. In 52 games with the Eagles, he scored six goals and 23 points. After going unclaimed on waivers, he was assigned to the Flames' AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, to start the 2022–23 season. He was recalled by the Flames for the first time on November 6 along with Nick DeSimone. He made his Flames debut on November 8 in a 3–2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. He recorded his first point with the Flames on November 23, assisting on Dillon Dubé's goal in a 2–1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He spent the season split between the AHL and NHL, performing spot duty with the Flames replacing missing veterans Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone. He tallied his first goal for the Flames on February 11, 2023, in a 7–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. In 23 games with the Flames he marked the one goal and four points. In 26 games with the Wranglers he scored two goals and five points. He steadily got into the lineup until leaving the game on January 4, 2024, due to a head injury suffered after a hit by Philip Tomasino. He was placed on injured reserve on January 17 and did not return to the lineup until March 2, missing ten games. However, during the season, the Flames acquired three new defensemen in March and Gilbert saw his playing time diminish as the new players were integrated. He finished the season with one goal and seven points in 34 games. He made his Sabres debut in their second game and first win of the 2024–25 season on October 12 in a 5–2 victory over the Florida Panthers. He replaced Sam Lafferty in the lineup. He was scratched for lengthy periods of time, going from November 16 to December 7 without playing a game. He recorded his first point with the Sabres assisting on Tyson Kozak's goal in the first period in a 5–2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on December 7. With Buffalo, he marked five assists in 25 games. He made his debut the following night on March 8 in a 4–3 victory over the New York Rangers. He recorded his first point with Ottawa in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, assisting on Nick Cousins' first period goal. He concluded the season with the Senators, registering one assist through just four appearances. He made the 2025–26 Flyers' opening night roster, but never played a game for them before being assigned to the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, on October 13. In six games, he recorded one assist with Lehigh Valley. He was injured during his time in Lehigh Valley in October and was assigned to Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to recover. He was recalled by Ottawa on November 29. He made one appearance with Ottawa, making his NHL season debut on December 4 in a 4–2 loss to the New York Rangers, before was returned to Belleville on December 19. He was recalled again on December 27, but did not see any playing time before being returned to the AHL. He was recalled for a third time on March 9, 2026, after an injury to star defenseman Jake Sanderson. However, Gilbert was injured himself on March 22 and returned to the lineup on April 12. Gilbert finished the season with Ottawa, appearing in eight games, registering one assist. In 31 games with Belleville, he added 12 assists. However, the Senators were swept in the first round by the Hurricanes. Gilbert went scoreless in the three games he appeared in.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2011–12 St. Joseph's Collegiate USHS 27 4 5 9 2 — — — — — 2012–13 St. Joseph's Collegiate USHS 28 12 8 20 21 — — — — — 2013–14 Buffalo Jr. Sabres OJHL 35 4 13 17 36 10 0 3 3 8 2014–15 Chicago Steel USHL 59 4 23 27 89 — — — — — 2015–16 Notre Dame HE 37 2 8 10 34 — — — — — 2016–17 Notre Dame HE 40 0 22 22 22 — — — — — 2017–18 Notre Dame B1G 39 4 6 10 16 — — — — — 2018–19 Rockford IceHogs AHL 63 5 9 14 67 — — — — — 2018–19 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 30 1 6 7 46 — — — — — 2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 21 1 2 3 38 — — — — — 2020–21 Colorado Avalanche NHL 3 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2020–21 Colorado Eagles AHL 17 1 7 8 4 — — — — — 2021–22 Colorado Eagles AHL 52 6 17 23 41 — — — — — 2022–23 Calgary Wranglers AHL 26 2 3 5 41 — — — — — 2022–23 Calgary Flames NHL 23 1 3 4 27 — — — — — 2023–24 Calgary Flames NHL 34 1 6 7 16 — — — — — 2024–25 Buffalo Sabres NHL 25 0 5 5 50 — — — — — 2024–25 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2025–26 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 6 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 2025–26 Belleville Senators AHL 31 0 12 12 27 — — — — — 2025–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 8 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 6 NHL totals 119 3 18 21 140 3 0 0 0 6

Awards and honors Award Year USHL All-Rookie Team 2015 College HE Best Defensive Defenseman 2017 HE Third All-Star Team 2017