Chris Thorburn

Chris Thorburn (born June 3, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played over 800 games in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Chris Thorburn
Thorburn with the St. Louis Blues in 2017
Born (1983-06-03) June 3, 1983
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Buffalo Sabres
Pittsburgh Penguins
Atlanta Thrashers
Winnipeg Jets
St. Louis Blues
NHL Draft 50th overall, 2001
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2003–2019

Early life

Thorburn was born on June 3, 1983, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada[1] to parents Linda and Mark Thorburn.[2] He grew up in Ontario with two brothers and two sisters, along with numerous cousins from both sides of the family.[2] His first cousin Chrissy Colizza plays for the McGill Martlets ice hockey, a school which three of his uncles attended.[3]

Playing career
Thorburn with the Thrashers.

Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Thorburn played most of his minor ice hockey in the Sault Major Hockey Association (NOHA). He played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Sault Ste. Marie.[4] He later played for the Soo Thunder Minor Bantam club before making the jump to Tier II Jr.A. hockey with the Elliot Lake Vikings of the NOJHL. After an impressive season as a 15-year-old in the NOJHL, Thorburn was selected in the first round (6th overall) as an underage by the North Bay Centennials in the 1999 OHL Priority Selection. By 2019, he was the last North Bay Centennials player to be an active player in the NHL.[5]

He was drafted 50th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.[6] However, after returning to the OHL for the 2001–2002 season, the Centennials were sold to Saginaw and he split his season between the Saginaw Spirit and the Plymouth Whalers.[7] On December 2, 2005, Thorburn made his NHL debut in 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks[8] and recorded his first career NHL point the following game against the Colorado Avalanche.[9] He was returned to American Hockey League on December 7, after playing in two games.[9]

On October 3, 2006, Thorburn was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins.[10] He recorded his first career NHL goal on November 6, 2006, in a 3–2 overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks.[11] After one season with the Penguins, Thorburn was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for a third-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.[12]

Thorburn with the Jets in April 2016

Enjoying a career year during the 2010–11 season and in his fourth year with the Thrashers, Thorburn was signed to a three-year contract extension on February 26, 2011.[13] On June 30, 2014, the Winnipeg Jets re-signed Thorburn to a three-year, $3.6 million contract extension.[14]

On June 21, 2017, as an impending free agent from the Jets, he was left exposed and claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.[15] For selecting Thorburn the Jets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Columbus' first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft which was previously acquired by the Golden Knights.[16] Although being selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Thorburn would become a free agent. On July 1, 2017, he signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal with the St. Louis Blues.[17]

In the 2018–19 season, Thorburn made one appearance with the Blues before he was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, for the majority of the campaign. Thorburn was later recalled by the Blues, and despite not playing he was a part of the extended roster in the playoffs as the Blues claimed their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.[5]

Thorburn announced his retirement on June 22, 2020 via a written statement released by the NHLPA.[18] In an NHL career that spanned from 2006 to 2019, Thorburn scored 134 points in 801 career NHL games.

Personal life

Thorburn is married to Sara Thorburn and they have two children together. After their oldest child was diagnosed with autism, the couple began organizing fundraisers to raise money towards special education programs at schools.[19] In 2018, they raised $20,000 towards their sons local special needs teacher at Flynn Park Elementary School.[20]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Soo Thunder AAA Bantam 42 50 56 106 40 — — — — —
1998–99 Elliot Lake Ice NOJHL 40 20 11 31 30 10 4 2 6 14
1999–00 North Bay Centennials OHL 56 12 8 20 33 6 0 2 2 0
2000–01 North Bay Centennials OHL 66 22 32 54 64 4 0 1 1 9
2001–02 North Bay Centennials OHL 67 15 43 58 112 5 1 2 3 8
2002–03 Saginaw Spirit OHL 37 19 19 38 68 — — — — —
2002–03 Plymouth Whalers OHL 27 11 22 33 56 18 11 9 20 10
2003–04 Rochester Americans AHL 58 6 16 22 77 16 3 2 5 18
2004–05 Rochester Americans AHL 73 12 17 29 185 4 0 1 1 12
2005–06 Buffalo Sabres NHL 2 0 1 1 7 — — — — —
2005–06 Rochester Americans AHL 77 23 27 50 134 — — — — —
2006–07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 39 3 2 5 69 — — — — —
2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 73 5 13 18 92 — — — — —
2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 7 8 15 104 — — — — —
2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 76 4 9 13 89 — — — — —
2010–11 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 9 10 19 77 — — — — —
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL 72 4 7 11 83 — — — — —
2012–13 Winnipeg Jets NHL 42 2 2 4 70 — — — — —
2013–14 Winnipeg Jets NHL 55 2 9 11 65 — — — — —
2014–15 Winnipeg Jets NHL 81 7 7 14 76 4 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Winnipeg Jets NHL 82 6 6 12 81 — — — — —
2016–17 Winnipeg Jets NHL 64 3 1 4 95 — — — — —
2017–18 St. Louis Blues NHL 50 1 6 7 60 — — — — —
2018–19 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2018–19 San Antonio Rampage AHL 40 2 5 7 45 — — — — —
NHL totals 801 53 81 134 968 4 0 0 0 0

References
  1. Malinowski, Mark (March 13, 2016). "Getting to Know: Jets Right Winger Chris Thorburn". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  2. Penton, Kirk (March 4, 2012). "Hard-working Thorburn keeps Jets loose". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  3. Russon, Randy (January 7, 2017). "Colizza connection to McGill". hockeynewsnorth.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  5. Dawson, Chris (June 13, 2019). "The Last Centennial hoists the Cup". BayToday. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  6. "Sabres picks". Rochester, New York: Democrat and Chronicle. June 24, 2001. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  7. "Thorburn makes it to the big leagues". sootoday.com. December 6, 2005. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  8. "Thornton Era Begins As Sharks Smash Sabres". Ukiah Daily Journal. December 3, 2005. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  9. "Thorburn Rejoins Ameraks". Democrat and Chronicle. December 7, 2005. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  10. "Penguins claim Chris Thornburn off waivers from Buffalo". NHL.com. October 3, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  11. "Ducks Top Penguins In OT, 3–2". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 7, 2006. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  12. "Penguins agree to 1-year deals with Recchi, Roberts". NHL.com. July 22, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  13. Vivlamore, Chris (February 26, 2011). "Updated: Thrashers sign Thorburn to three-year deal". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  14. "Chris Thorburn, Jets agree on 3-year deal". cbc.ca. July 1, 2014.
  15. "Vegas Golden Knights do the unexpected and select Chris Thorburn from Winnipeg Jets". Global News. June 21, 2017.
  16. "Jets swap first-round picks with Golden Knights". June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  17. "Blues sign Thorburn to replace Reaves". Stltoday. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  18. "Thorburn announces retirement from hockey". NHL. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  19. Pinkert, Chris (March 29, 2018). "One tough customer". nhl.com. May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  20. Tallan, Eric (April 12, 2018). "Blues player, spouse present $20,000 check to local special needs teacher". fox2now.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
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