James Andrew Hiller (born May 13, 1969) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Hiller played 63 games in the NHL with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

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

, while spending time in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). He finished his career playing overseas in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

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

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

. Upon retiring, Hiller began a

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

career in the junior leagues.

Playing career

Hiller was born in

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices o ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. After playing Junior A hockey for the

Melville Millionaires The Melville Millionaires are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey based in Melville, Saskatchewan. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games in the Horizon Credit Union Centre which has a seating c ...

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in the WHL with the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

, Hiller was drafted in the tenth round, 207th overall, by the

in the

1989 NHL Entry Draft The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was the 27th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the p ...

. Upon being drafted, Hiller began a three-year

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

career with

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

. NMU won the 1991 NCAA title in Hiller's sophomore year. Following an 86-point campaign with Northern Michigan in a 41-game 1991–92 season, his third with the university, he turned pro with the Los Angeles Kings. During his rookie season, he was traded to the

and completed his rookie season in

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

with 20 points in 61 games split between the two teams. The next season, in 1993–94, Hiller became a

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

, but played only two games with the NHL club, spending his tenure with the organization in the minor leagues with

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously served by: : Broome Dusters of the NAHL (19 ...

of the AHL and

Atlanta Knights The Atlanta Knights were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League from 1992 to 1996. The Knights were based in Atlanta, and played at the Omni Coliseum. In 1994 the ...

of the IHL. After one season with the Canadian National Team, Hiller went overseas to play in the

with the

Starbulls Rosenheim Starbulls Rosenheim is a professional ice hockey team based in Rosenheim, Oberbayern, Germany. They currently play in Oberliga. Prior to the 2013–14 season they played in the 2nd Bundesliga. They play their home games at ''Rofa-Stadion'', loca ...

in 1996–97. He finished second in league scoring in his third and final campaign with the club in 1998–99 with 67 points in 52 games, two points behind Martin Jiranek of the

Nürnberg Ice Tigers The Nürnberg Ice Tigers are a professional ice hockey club located in Nuremberg, Germany. They play in the country's premier league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. History The roots of the team can be traced back to SG Nürnberg, an ice hockey ...

. In 1999–00, Hiller began a two-season stint with the Berlin Capitals, after which he spent one final season with HC Milano of the

before retiring.

Coaching career

After retiring in 2002 from his playing career, Hiller immediately began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio st ...

of the WHL for two seasons. In 2005–06, he was named head coach of the

Alberni Valley Bulldogs The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Weyerhaeuser Arena. ...

of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Ca ...

(BCHL), where he posted a winning record of 43-12-2. The next season, he was selected to coach the expansion

Chilliwack Bruins The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Ce ...

back in the WHL. He coached the franchise to playoff berths in their first two seasons, but after missing the post-season in his third year with the club, he was fired. Later in the 2009 off-season, he was named head coach of the

. In 2010 the Americans reached the WHL Championship Series but lost to the

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

. Hiller received WHL and CHL coach of the year honors for the 2011–12 season. On July 30, 2014, it was announced Hiller was hired as an assistant coach for the

. Part of his duties are to oversee the Red Wings' power play, which ranked 17th in the league the season before his hire. After spending one season in Detroit, Hiller followed Mike Babcock to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Toronto, Hiller was an assistant coach with responsibility of the power play. On June 19, 2019, the New York Islanders announced that Hiller would be joining their coaching staff as an assistant under Barry Trotz. One month after the Islanders fired Trotz and replaced him with Lane Lambert, Hiller was also relieved of his duties on June 9, 2022.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiller, Jim 1969 births Atlanta Knights players Berlin Capitals players Binghamton Rangers players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chilliwack Bruins coaches Detroit Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings players HC Milano players Ice hockey coaches Ice hockey people from British Columbia Living people Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Melville Millionaires players New York Islanders coaches New York Rangers players Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players People from Port Alberni Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Prince Albert Raiders players Starbulls Rosenheim players Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Tri-City Americans coaches Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans