Cole Kehler (born December 17, 1997) is a Canadian 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He most recently played with the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars i ...

in 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

After being selected by the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

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 ...

in the 2012 Bantam Draft, Kehler competed for the starting goaltender position with Connor Ingram during the 2014–15 season. After two partial seasons of poor performance with Kamloops, Kehler was assigned to play for the

Merritt Centennials The Merritt Centennials are a junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Merritt, British Columbia. They are members of the Bill Ohlhausen Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). They play their home game ...

of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

and was named the starting goalie. The Blazers traded Kehler's WHL rights to the

Portland Winterhawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...

in August, 2016. He played for Portland between 2016 and 2018, guiding the Winterhawks to playoff appearances in both seasons. After attending the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Skills Development Camp in 2017, Kehler signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Kings. Kehler made his professional debut in 2018 with the Kings secondary affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 ECHL season, 2015–16 season. Bas ...

of the

. After leaving the Kings organization as a free agent, as he was not tendered a qualifying offer, Kehler was later offered a professional tryout to attend training camp with the Winnipeg Jets. He released by the Jets following the conclusion of training camp and later signed a one-year AHL contract with affiliate, the

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 ...

, on January 24, 2021. Kehler appeared in 1 game with the Moose, before he was signed by the Winnipeg Jets for the remainder of the season to add insurance depth on April 9, 2021. In the following off-season as a pending restricted free agent, Kehler's rights were not retained by the Jets after failing to receive a qualifying offer. As a free agent, Kehler signed a contract in the ECHL to join the

Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, 2 ...

to open the 2021–22 season. Following two games with the Rush, Kehler was traded to the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

on November 30, 2021. He appeared in 4 games with the Cyclones before he was traded a month later on December 30, to the Utah Grizzlies.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kehler, Cole 1997 births Living people Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Fort Wayne Komets players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Kamloops Blazers players Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) players Manitoba Moose players Merritt Centennials players Ontario Reign (AHL) players Portland Winterhawks players Rapid City Rush players Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Canadian sportsmen