Tyler Kleven (born January 10, 2002) is an American 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 ...

defenseman 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 ...

for the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

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 played

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 go ...

with the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. He was selected 44th overall in the second round of the 2020 NHL entry draft by the Senators. After leaving college, he began his professional career with the Senators in 2023.

Early life

Kleven was born January 10, 2002, in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, to Chris and Lori Kleven. His father, a former

for the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under Head Coach Matt Smaby. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa. History ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) and the

Northern Michigan Wildcats The Northern Michigan Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, in NCAA intercollegiate sporting competitions. All teams that play under NCAA governance compete at the NCAA Divisi ...

, built a backyard ice rink for Kleven and coached him as a child. Originally a

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 ...

, Kleven switched to playing defense at the age of eight to better accommodate his defensive mindset.

Playing career

Amateur

Kleven joined the

(UND) hockey program in 2020. He spent three years with the Fighting Hawks. He was known for his shot from the point, marking 20 goals and 35 points in 95 games with UND. During his college career, Kleven was suspended three times.

Professional

Kleven was selected 44th overall by the

(NHL)'s

in the second round of the 2020 NHL entry draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract on March 23, 2023, with the Senators. He previously played with Senators teammates Jake Sanderson,

Shane Pinto Shane Pinto (born November 12, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 32nd overall by the Senators, the first pick in the second round of the 2019 NHL entry ...

and

Jacob Bernard-Docker Jacob Bernard-Docker (born June 30, 2000) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bernard-Docker was drafted in the first round, 26th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the ...

at UND. An injury to

Jakob Chychrun Jakob Chychrun ( ; born March 31, 1998) is an American–Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 16th overall by the Arizona Coyotes at the 2016 NHL entry draft ...

allowed Kleven to play in his first NHL game shortly after joining the team. He played his first NHL game against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

on March 30, 2023. Another injury to a defenseman during the game, this time Travis Hamonic, forced coach D. J. Smith to play Kleven more than he would have liked, but it allowed Kleven to notch his first NHL point, an assist on a

Claude Giroux Claude Giroux (; born January 12, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers and the Florida Pant ...

goal in the third. The Senators won the game 5–4. He finished the season having played eight games. Kleven attended Ottawa's 2023 training camp but was assigned to Ottawa's

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

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators (colloquially known as the B-Sens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belleville, Ontario. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators. The Senators pl ...

, to start the 2023–24 season. After injuries to

Thomas Chabot Thomas Chabot ( ; born January 30, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chabot was drafted in the first round (18th overall) by the Senators in ...

and

Erik Brännström Erik Brännström (born 2 September 1999) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for Lausanne HC of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). Brännström was selected 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Ho ...

, Kleven was recalled by Ottawa on October 28. He appeared in five games, with one assist before being returned to Belleville on 19 November. He was recalled on March 28, 2024, again replacing an injured Thomas Chabot. Kleven appeared in four games with Ottawa before being returned to Belleville on April 5 after Chabot returned from injury. He finished the season with one assist for a total of one point in nine games with Ottawa, and five goals and 21 points in 53 games for Belleville. He also added one goal and two assists in Belleville's seven games during the

2024 Calder Cup playoffs The 2024 Calder Cup playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Hockey League (AHL) to determine the winner of the Calder Cup, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions from the 2023–24 AHL season. All teams except the bottom t ...

. For the 2024–25 season, Kleven made the Ottawa Senators out of training camp and was in the opening night roster. He scored his first NHL goal against

Mackenzie Blackwood Mackenzie Blackwood (born December 9, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Blackwood was the top-rated North American goaltender ranked in the NHL Central Scouting ...

on November 27 in a 4–3 win against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

International play

Kleven played for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

IIHF World Junior Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and won gold in 2021. Following the end of the NHL season, Kleven joined the

at the

2023 IIHF World Championship The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Canada men's national ice hockey team, Canada won ...

. The team finished fourth in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleven, Tyler 2002 births Living people Belleville Senators players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators draft picks Ottawa Senators players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players 21st-century American sportsmen