Tyler Wright (born April 6, 1973) 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 ...

player. He played in 613

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 ...

games with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

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 ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

, and

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

. His most recent job in the NHL was as director of Player Personnel /director of amateur scouting for the

. Wright and the Oilers announced they agreed to mutually part ways on August 23, 2023. Wright was born in Canora, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Kamsack, Saskatchewan.

Playing career

Wright was drafted 12th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the

. As a junior with the Swift Current Broncos in 1989-90 he scored 32 points as a rookie. In 1990-91, he improved his offensive production, scoring 41 goals and 92 points in 66 games. In the 1991-92 season, he netted 36 goals and 82 points in 63 games. After being drafted by the Oilers, Wright played parts of two seasons in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

(1992–93 and 1993–94) but ultimately spent most of his time with their AHL team,

Cape Breton Oilers The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hal ...

. On June 22, 1996, Wright was acquired by the

for a 7th-round draft pick (Brandon Lafrance) and subsequently played 45 games with the Penguins during the 1996-97 season, registering 2 goals and 2 assists. In 1997-98, he joined the NHL ranks full-time and played all 82 games for the Penguins. He helped his team win the Northeast Division title and then made his playoff debut. In 1998-99, he played 61 regular-season games for the Penguins going scoreless, giving him the NHL record for most games played in a single season without registering a point (since tied by Raitis Ivanans). The following year he dressed for 50 games and scored 12 goals and 22 points. In the 1999 playoffs, he scored four points in eleven games as the Penguins reached the second round. On April 21, he scored his first career playoff goal against 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 ...

. On June 23, 2000, Wright was selected in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft by the newly formed

. In his first season with his new team, he scored 16 goals and 32 points and developed into an on ice leader for the Blue Jackets. Since 1987–88, there have been 94 hat tricks scored by a goal (i) at even strength, (ii) on the power play, and (iii) on the penalty kill, by a total of 75 different players. Wright scored two of these 94 hat tricks, with the first coming on March 16, 2001, against the Atlanta Thrashers and his second coming on October 27, 2002, against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

. During the NHL lockout, Wright played with Swiss team

EHC Biel EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the te ...

in the second Swiss division. After four seasons in Columbus, Wright was dealt to the

on November 15, 2005, in a deal that saw

Sergei Fedorov Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of HC CSKA Moscow, CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) from 2021 to 2024. During his playing care ...

join the Blue Jackets. The final year of his contract was bought out by Anaheim in June 2006.

International play

On the international stage, Wright represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the 1992 and 1993 World Junior Championships. At the 1993 tournament, he was an alternate captain and helped Canada win the gold medal and was a member of Canada's World Championship team in 2002.

Post-retirement

In July 2007, Wright rejoined the

organization in a front office position when he was named a development coach for the club. His duties included working with prospects and young players throughout the organization, and assisting with the development of prospects within the professional minor leagues, various major junior leagues, and college level. On July 1, 2013, Wright resigned from the Blue Jackets. On July 10, 2013, he was named the director of amateur scouting for 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 ...

. On July 11, 2019, it was announced that Wright would depart the Detroit Red Wings and join new GM Ken Holland in Edmonton. The two previously worked together for the last six seasons with the

. On August 22, 2023 it was announced the Tyler Wright and the Edmonton Oilers had parted ways.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tyler 1973 births Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of English descent Cape Breton Oilers players Cleveland Lumberjacks players Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Columbus Blue Jackets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Columbus Blue Jackets scouts Detroit Red Wings scouts Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players EHC Basel players EHC Biel players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Living people Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players NHL first-round draft picks People from Canora, Saskatchewan Pittsburgh Penguins players Swift Current Broncos players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players