Blake Hillman (born January 26, 1996) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional ice hockey

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

who plays for the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

in the American Hockey League (AHL). Hillman was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round, 173rd overall, in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Playing career

Hillman played two seasons in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Waterloo Black Hawks, before attending the University of Denver. Hillman played three years at the University of Denver where he was a member of the 2017 NCAA Champion Denver Pioneers. Hillman was drafted in the sixth round, 173rd overall, in the

. At the end of his junior year, Hillman signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on March 27, 2018, and made his NHL debut on March 30, 2018, in a game between the Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche. Hillman recorded his first career NHL goal on April 4, 2018, in a game against the St. Louis Blues, to help the Blackhawks win 4–3. As an impending restricted free agent, Hillman was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Blackhawks, releasing him as a free agent on June 25, 2019. With limited interest from NHL/AHL clubs, Hillman signed a one-year contract with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL on July 26, 2019. In the 2019–20 season, Hillman contributed with 13 points through 35 regular season games with the Walleye, while also leaving on loan on two occasions by signing two tryout contracts in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins and

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

. On January 20, 2021, Hillman extended his professional career by signing with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL for the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season. Following the 2021–22 season, having played with the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL and the Grand Rapids Griffins,

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

in the AHL, Hillman was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack on July 6, 2022.

International play

Hillman represented Team USA at the

2014 World Junior A Challenge The 2014 World Junior A Challenge was an international Junior "A" ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada. It was hosted in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, from December 14–20, 2014, at the West Central Events Centre. Teams * Eastern Canada, ...

where he helped Team USA win their 6th gold medal.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1996 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Dubuque Fighting Saints players Grand Rapids Griffins players People from Elk River, Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minnesota Providence Bruins players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players South Carolina Stingrays players Stockton Heat players Toledo Walleye players Waterloo Black Hawks players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-icehockey-defenseman-stub