Chris Nielsen (born February 16, 1980) is a

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

n-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. Nielsen was drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He played parts of two seasons 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. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. Nielsen was born in Tanzania while his Canadian father was stationed there working for the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; in French: ''Agence canadienne de développement international''; ''ACDI'') was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was me ...

. His family moved back to Canada when he was three, and he grew up on a farm near the small town of

Goodlands, Manitoba Goodlands is an unincorporated rural community in the Municipality of Brenda-Waskada within the Canadian province of Manitoba. The community is located east of Waskada and west of the Turtle Mountains. The Carbury–Goodlands Border Crossing ...

Playing career

Nielsen played junior hockey with the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), hosting their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "Hitman" Hart, a prof ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

. He was a member of the 1998–99 team that won the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

, and got within a game of winning the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

. He won the

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy The Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the Western Hockey League humanitarian of the year. The winner is the player who best shows a commitment to his community and to humanitarian values. The award received its current ...

in 1999–2000 as the WHL's Humanitarian of the Year. Nielsen turned pro in 2000, playing three seasons with the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, earning two callups to the Blue Jackets during that time. He then bounced around between the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

and

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

of the AHL and the

Laredo Bucks The Laredo Bucks were an ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. The Bucks played in Laredo, Texas, United States at the Laredo Energy Arena, formerly known as the Laredo Entertainment Center. On May 1, 2012, the management, citing declin ...

of 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 ...

before heading to Europe to play in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 2005–06. Nielsen retired from professional hockey in 2006. After retiring from hockey, Nielsen went back to school at the University of Manitoba and was the

colour commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the Manitoba Moose at their home games. He then completed undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

, graduating from the

Cumming School of Medicine The Cumming School of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Calgary. It was established in 1967 and adopted its current name in 2014. It is one of two medical schools in Alberta and one of 17 in Ca ...

in 2012 and completing his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2017. Dr. Nielsen then moved to Toronto for fellowship, completing his training in complex spinal surgery at

Toronto Western Hospital The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known fo ...

in 2018, at which time he transitioned into the role of Clinical Associate. He is now an Attending Surgeon at

University Health Network University Health Network (UHN) is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is the largest health research organization in Canada, ranking first in Canada for ...

and an Assistant Professor in th
Division of Orthopaedic Surgery
with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

- WHL Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

- WHL Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy. *2000 - WHL Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Transactions

*June 27, 1998 - Drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall by the

in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. *May 11, 2000 - Traded by the

to the

for the Blue Jackets' 4th round selection (

Jonas Rönnqvist Jonas Karl Rönnqvist (born 22 August 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played 38 games in the National Hockey League for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2000–01 NHL season. The rest of his career, which laste ...

) and 9th round selection ( Dmitri Altarev) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. *December 2, 2002 - Traded by the

with

Petteri Nummelin Timo Petteri Nummelin (born November 25, 1972) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue ...

to the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

for

Tomi Kallio Tomi Kristian Kallio (born 27 January 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey right winger who last played for HC TPS in the Finnish Liiga. After retiring from TPS in 2018, Kallio remained with the team and assumed the role of directo ...

and Pauli Levokari. *January 20, 2003 - Traded by the

with Chris Herperger to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

for Jeff Farkas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Chris 1980 births Canadian ice hockey centres Calgary Hitmen players Chicago Wolves players Columbus Blue Jackets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Kassel Huskies players Laredo Bucks players Living people Manitoba Moose players New York Islanders draft picks San Antonio Rampage players Syracuse Crunch players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany 21st-century Canadian sportsmen