Nolan William Pratt (born August 14, 1975) is a

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 ...

defenceman 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 is currently an assistant coach for his former club, the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

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).

Playing career

Pratt was selected in the 5th round, 115th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

from the

Portland Winter Hawks 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 ...

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 ...

. Pratt made his NHL debut in the 1996–97 season with the

, in the last year of the franchise. Pratt would then move with the team to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

. On June 24, 2000, he was traded along with a

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 ...

1st round pick ( Vaclav Nedorost), a

2nd round pick ( Jared Aulin), and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's 2nd round pick in 2000 (Argis Saviels) to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

for Sandis Ozolinsh and a second round pick ( Tomas Kurka). After the 2000–01 season, on June 24, 2001, Pratt was traded by the newly crowned

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champions, the Colorado Avalanche, to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

for a 2001 NHL Entry Draft 6th round pick ( Scott Horvath). Pratt would help the Lightning, in the 2003–04 season, win the Stanley Cup. This marked Pratt's second Cup win. Pratt was signed as a free agent by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

on November 1, 2007. With the Sabres, Pratt was most often paired with Dmitri Kalinin. On September 23, 2008, Pratt, a free agent, was invited to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars 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 Stars ...

training camp however was released just three days later. With no other NHL opportunities, Pratt signed with Russian team Amur Khabarovsk of the

KHL 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 ...

on October 10, 2008. After two seasons with Khabarovsk, Pratt left as a free agent and on November 8, 2010, signed a one-year contract with Lukko of the Finnish SM-Liiga.

Coaching career

After his playing career, Pratt served as an assistant coach for the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

of the AHL from 2011 to 2016. On July 16, 2015, Pratt's former club the

hired him as an assistant coach.

Personal

Pratt is the older brother of Harlan Pratt, a professional

defenseman who was selected by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft who has played more than 900 games across North America and Europe.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Nolan 1975 births Amur Khabarovsk players Beast of New Haven players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Carolina Hurricanes players Colorado Avalanche coaches Colorado Avalanche players Hartford Whalers draft picks Hartford Whalers players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Ice hockey people from Alberta Living people Lukko players Sportspeople from Fort McMurray Portland Winterhawks players Richmond Renegades players Springfield Falcons players Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning players Bonnyville Pontiacs players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland