Steven Reed Konowalchuk (born November 11, 1972) is an American 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 ...

left winger who played in the

NHL 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 ...

with 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Most recently he was the head coach of the WHL's Red Deer Rebels. Konowalchuk is the first player born and raised in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

to make it to the NHL level.

Playing career

He was drafted by the

in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, 3rd Round, 58th overall from 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 ...

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 ...

. During the 2001–02 NHL season he served as co-captain of the Capitals alongside teammate Brendan Witt. In October 2002 it was announced that he would serve as the tenth full-time captain of the Capitals. He would hold the position until he was traded to Colorado by Washington with Washington's third selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Bates Battaglia and the rights to Jonas Johansson on October 22, 2003. On September 29, 2006, Konowalchuk announced his retirement after a regular examination detected Long QT syndrome.

Coaching career

After his retirement, Konowalchuk remained within the Avalanche organization and served as an assistant coach to

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is credited as the first artist to practice rigorous, investigative journalism using the comics form, also referred to as comics journalism. His groundbrea ...

during the 2009–10 and 2010–11 season. In June 2011, he was named head coach of the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

of the

. He led the team to a WHL championship in the 2016–17 season. In June 2017, Konowalchuk left the

to join the NHL's

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 an assistant coach. Konowalchuk was fired from the Ducks after just one season. In September 2018, he was hired by the NHL's

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

as an amateur scout, mainly focused on prospects in the Western Hockey League. On June 8, 2021, the Red Deer Rebels announced that Konowalchuk would take over from owner & general manager, Brent Sutter as head coach of the hockey club. On May 20, 2024, the St. Louis Blues announced Konowalchuk as the head coach of its AHL affiliate, the

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The Thunderbirds play their home games at th ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

Awards

* WHL West First All-Star Team – 1992

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konowalchuk, Steve 1972 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers American people of Ukrainian descent Anaheim Ducks coaches Baltimore Skipjacks players Colorado Avalanche coaches Colorado Avalanche players Ice hockey people from Utah Portland Pirates players Portland Winterhawks players Seattle Thunderbirds coaches Sportspeople from Salt Lake City Washington Capitals captains Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players 20th-century American sportsmen