Connor Murphy (born March 26, 1993) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference ...

and

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. He was selected 20th overall in the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...

by the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. He is the son of former NHL defenseman

Gord Murphy Gordon J. Murphy (born February 23, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. He ...

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Murphy played in the 2006

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival ...

with the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from ...

team. He later played

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. Prior to signing with the Sting, Murphy committed to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

, but decided to play in the Ontario Hockey League for the Sarnia Sting instead. Murphy has previously played for the

USA Hockey National Team Development Program The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) was started in 1996 by USA Hockey as a way to identify elite ice hockey players under the age of 18, and centralize their training. There are two teams in the program: under-17 and under- ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is stric ...

(USHL).

Phoenix Coyotes organization

On November 16, 2013, Connor made his NHL debut with the

, and in his first NHL game he scored his first NHL goal past

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play ...

goalie

Anders Lindback Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

. On July 28, 2016, Murphy signed a six-year, $23.1 million contract with the Coyotes.

Chicago Blackhawks

After his fourth season with the Coyotes, Murphy and Laurent Dauphin were traded to the

in exchange for Niklas Hjalmarsson on June 23, 2017. On August 31, 2021, Murphy signed a four-year, $17.6 million contract extension with the Blackhawks.

International play

Murphy represented the United States internationally playing for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the

2011 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships was held in Crimmitschau and Dresden, Germany. The championships ran from April 14–24, 2011. The United States won the title for the third straight time after beating Sweden 4–3 in the final in overtime. ...

with Team USA. He scored 3 goals and had 1 assists in 6 games during the tournament, including the

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

goal in the gold medal game against Sweden. He was selected as captain for the

2017 IIHF World Championship The 2017 IIHF World Championship, the 2017 edition of the annual Ice Hockey World Championships, was held from 5 to 21 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. The official tournament mascots were Asterix and Obelix, the main characters ...

, leading Team USA to a 5th-place finish.

Personal life

Murphy was born in Boston when his father,

, was a member of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

. He grew up in the suburbs of Miami and Atlanta before his family settled in Dublin, Ohio, when his father was an assistant coach with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

. He has a brother named Tyler and a sister named Lexi.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1993 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen American people of Canadian descent Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey players from Ohio National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Dublin, Ohio Phoenix Coyotes players Portland Pirates players Sarnia Sting players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players {{US-icehockey-defenceman-stub