Aaron Boogaard (born August 11, 1986) is a former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who most recently played for the

Wichita Thunder The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Playing career

Boogaard was drafted 175th overall by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

on April 23, 2007. He spent the majority of the 2007–08 season with the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

, the Penguins'

affiliate, appearing in only two games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Boogaard appeared in 41 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the following season. After being cleared of his charges connected to the death of his brother, Boogaard was offered a chance to continue his professional hockey career by receiving a training camp invite to the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the

. Aeros General Manager Jim Mill has mentioned that Boogaard may be signed to a two-way contract between the Aeros and a team in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

Legal troubles

On July 20, 2011, Boogaard was arrested on suspicion of prescription fraud/possession of prescription pills. He was charged with the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, oxycodone, and with interfering with a crime scene for misleading the coroner or concealing evidence in the death of his brother, Derek Boogaard. On October 6, 2011, Hennepin County District Judge William Howard said the facts of the case didn't support the charge, being that Aaron did not buy the pills, and dismissed the felony charge of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance against Boogaard. Boogaard would later plea guilty to interfering with the scene of a death. As a result of Boogaard's guilty plea, he received two years probation and eighty hours community service (which must be completed within the next year.)

Personal life

In the off season, Boogaard runs a hockey camp in Regina for 12- to 18-year-old youths. While the emphasis in the camp does cover fighting, Boogaard has countered by saying that with the league becoming bigger, stronger, and faster, the camp focuses with safety on the ice and how a player would defend themselves in the event of a fight. He is the brother of the late

Derek Boogaard Derek Leendert Boogaard ( ; later ; June 23, 1982 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). A native of Saskatchewan, wh ...

, who had also spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Wild. Boogaard had his first child in 2019.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boogaard, Aaron 1986 births Calgary Hitmen players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan Laredo Bucks players Living people Minnesota Wild draft picks Tri-City Americans players Wheeling Nailers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Wichita Thunder players Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen