Nolan Yonkman (born April 1, 1981) 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 ...

who played 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) before concluding his career with JYP of the Finnish

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

Career

Yonkman played

major junior Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's nationa ...

in 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 ...

(WHL) with the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

and

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

. He was drafted 37th overall by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and made his

(NHL) debut in 2001–02. Yonkman played the majority of his time with the Capitals' organization with their

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 ...

(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 ...

. On July 17, 2006, Yonkman signed as a free agent with 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 ...

and played for their AHL affiliate, the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

, for three seasons. On July 13, 2009, he was re-signed by the Predators to a one-year contract. After four seasons with the Admirals, Yonkman then signed a one-year contract with the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

on July 3, 2010. Yonkman played for their affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

. Yonkman remained as captain with the Rampage when their affiliation was changed from the Coyotes to 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 ...

by signing a two-year deal with the Panthers' organization on July 1, 2011. Over the course of his contract, he appeared in eight games for Florida as a reserve defenseman. On July 7, 2013, Yonkman signed a one-year, two-way contract as a free agent with 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 ...

. As a free agent following his season with the Ducks, Yonkman was unable to earn an NHL contract but was invited to the

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 ...

training camp on September 18, 2014. Following his release from Calgary, Yonkman signed a one-year AHL contract with Flames' affiliate, the

Adirondack Flames The Adirondack Flames were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Glens Falls, New York, and played at the 4,794 seat Glens Falls Civic Center. They were the top affiliate of the Calgary Flames of ...

, on October 7, 2014. On May 18, 2015, Yonkman headed overseas, signing a one-year contract with Finnish

club JYP. Following the 2018–19 season, his fourth season with JYP in the Liiga, Yonkman ended his 18-year professional career. He returned to North America, taking a job with junior club Milwaukee Power of the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, ...

(NA3HL) as a player development consultant, and providing color commentary for My 24 television broadcasts of Admirals games. In 2021, he was hired by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

to be an assistant coach with their AHL affiliate, the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yonkman, Nolan 1981 births Living people Adirondack Flames players Anaheim Ducks players Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Florida Panthers players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan JYP Jyväskylä players Kelowna Rockets players Milwaukee Admirals players Norfolk Admirals players Phoenix Coyotes players Portland Pirates players San Antonio Rampage players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland