Clay Daniel Wilson (born April 5, 1983) 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, p ...

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 ...

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 l ...

. He played 36 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for 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 ...

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 ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

and

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

Playing career

Clay Wilson played collegiate hockey for

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Uppe ...

from 2001 until 2005. After the 2004–05 collegiate season ended, he turned professional with the

Muskegon Fury Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

of the UHL. He played parts of two seasons with Muskegon before joining the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

of the AHL. After the 2005–06 season, he was signed as a free agent by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

of the NHL. He played for the Ducks' AHL affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

before being traded to the

of the NHL in November 2007. Wilson made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on March 25, 2008, against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

. He scored his first NHL goal and assist on March 26, 2008, in a game against 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 Division (N ...

, earning him first star honors in only his second NHL game. On January 14, 2009, Wilson was traded by the Blue Jackets, along with a 6th round draft pick, to the

for Jason Williams. Wilson signed a two-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

on July 2, 2009. Wilson was then assigned to AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, for the majority of the 2009–10 season before making his Panthers debut on April 3, 2010, against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. Although appearing in only two NHL games, Clay scored an impressive 60 points in 75 games with the Americans to be named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team. The

signed Wilson to a two-way deal for the 2011–12 season. He spent the majority of it with the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

of the AHL, but appeared in five games with Calgary. He had a one-way deal with the Flames for 2012–13, but was expected to again spend most of the season in Abbotsford. Wilson instead chose to leave the Flames organization, signing with

HC Donbass Hockey Club Donbass (; ''Romanization of Ukrainian, tr. Hokeinyi Klub Donbas'') is a Ukraine, Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Druzhkivka, that played in the Ukrainian Hockey League and briefly the KHL. HC Donbass is a six time Ukr ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL). The Flames terminated his NHL contract. He won the

2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup The Continental Cup 2012–13 was the 16th edition of the IIHF Continental Cup. The season started on 28 September 2012, and finished on 13 January, 2013. The Super Final was played in Donetsk, Ukraine on the 11–13 January 2013. The points ...

with

and was named the best defender in the tournament. He was named best defender again in 2014. Wilson was re-signed by Donbass to a further two-year contract extension, however with civil unrest in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

forcing Donbass to suspend operations for the 2014–15 season, Wilson signed a one-year contract with expansion club, HC Sochi on July 1, 2014. He then had his contract renewed for a second season. Following the 2015-16 campaign, he left Sochi, moving on to fellow KHL outfit

Severstal Cherepovets Hockey Club Severstal is a professional ice hockey club based in Cherepovets, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History Founded in 1956, the club was originally known as Stroitel (Builder) Cher ...

. After moving to Sweden to play in the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...

with

AIK IF Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening (abbreviated ''AIK IF'', also known as ''AIK Hockey'', often abbreviated ''AIK'' in hockey subjects), is the ice hockey department of sports club AIK based in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2014, AIK's men's ...

for the 2017–18 season, Wilson ended his 13-year professional career in accepting an assistant coach role in a return to

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

, with

on October 16, 2018.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Clay 1983 births Living people AIK IF players American men's ice hockey defensemen Atlanta Thrashers players Calgary Flames players Chicago Wolves players Columbus Blue Jackets players HC Donbass players Florida Panthers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players Muskegon Fury players People from Pine County, Minnesota Portland Pirates players Rochester Americans players Severstal Cherepovets players HC Sochi players Syracuse Crunch players Undrafted National Hockey League players American expatriate ice hockey players in Ukraine