Gabriel "Gabe" Vilardi (born August 16, 1999) 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for 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 ...

of 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). He was drafted eleventh overall by the

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

in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Vilardi was drafted in the first round, second overall, in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection by the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

. While Vilardi is a natural centre he primarily played as a winger with Windsor. Leading up to the NHL draft, Vilardi was seen as a top prospect and was ranked the No. 4 North American skater by

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League (NHL) that ranks prospects for the NHL entry draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate t ...

Craig Button Craig J. Button (born January 3, 1963) is currently an ice hockey analyst for TSN and a former National Hockey League (NHL) executive. Early life and hockey family Born in Rochester, New York, Button entered the world of hockey at birth. Hi ...

of TSN described him as a big and strong centre with so much offensive upside. In the 2017–18 season, on January 1, 2018, Vilardi along with

Sean Day Sean Day (born January 9, 1998) is a professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He formerly played for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Day was selected by the ...

were traded by the Spitfires to the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario. The Frontenacs play home games at Slush Puppie Place, which opened in 2008. The team's history predates the Ontario Ho ...

in exchange for Cody Morgan and six draft picks. On March 1, 2018, Vilardi signed a three-year entry-level contract with the

. Due to a chronic back issue, Vilardi did not make his professional debut with the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

, the Kings'

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 ...

affiliate, until November 29, 2018. He earned his first professional point three days later against the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

. On December 10, the Kings loaned Vilardi to Team Canada for a chance to compete at the

2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2019 WJC'') was the 43rd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 26, 2018, and ended with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2019. This marked the 1 ...

. Having recovered from his back issue, Vilardi found a more consistent spot with the Reign, playing 32 games in 2019–20, scoring 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points. On February 20, 2020, Vilardi was recalled to the Kings from the Ontario Reign. He made his NHL debut later that night against the

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 ...

. On his first career shot, Vilardi fired a wrist shot past Panthers goaltender

Sergei Bobrovsky Sergei Andreyevich Bobrovsky (; born 20 September 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jac ...

. Vilardi set a new NHL record, scoring his first career goal 6 seconds into his first career shift. Vilardi added an assist in the second period on a goal scored by

Martin Frk Martin Frk (; ; born 5 October 1993) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward for the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Frk was drafted 49th o ...

. As a restricted free agent, Vilardi was signed to a one-year, $825,000 contract extension with the Kings on July 23, 2022. On June 27, 2023, Vilardi was traded by the Kings, alongside Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a 2024 2nd-round draft pick, to the

in exchange for

Pierre-Luc Dubois Pierre-Luc Dubois (born June 24, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dubois was born in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, but grew up in Rimouski ...

. On April 4, 2024, Vilardi scored his first career NHL hat trick in a 5-2 Jets win over the visiting

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 ...

. On July 18, 2025, Vilardi signed a six-year, $45 million contract to remain with the Jets.

Personal life

Vilardi was born to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

parents Natale Vilardi and Giovanna Siviglia who moved from

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. His older brother Francesco played three seasons in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

, and three seasons for the Queen's University hockey team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilardi, Gabriel 1999 births Living people Canadian ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Kingston Frontenacs players Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States NHL first-round draft picks Ontario Reign (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario Windsor Spitfires players Winnipeg Jets players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen