- Chris Kunitz
-
Chris Kunitz 
Born September 26, 1979
Regina, SK, CANHeight 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) Position Left wing Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsPittsburgh Penguins
Anaheim Ducks
Atlanta ThrashersNational team 
CanadaNHL Draft undrafted Playing career 2003–present Christopher Kunitz (born September 26, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Atlanta Thrashers and Anaheim Ducks, the latter with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 2007. He won his second Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
Contents
Playing career
College and junior
Kunitz played Junior A in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) with the Melville Millionaires for two seasons before joining the NCAA college ranks with the Ferris State Bulldogs in 1999–00. After a 79-point campaign in his senior year, he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2003 (given to Peter Sejna), the same year Ferris State made it to the Division I Regional Finals, just missing out on the Frozen Four. He was part of the only Ferris State team to have ever make a NCAA Tournament appearance.[1]
Professional
Kunitz was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on April 1, 2003. He split his professional rookie season between Anaheim and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. After spending the 2004–05 NHL lockout with Cincinnati, he was picked up on waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005–06. Two weeks later, however, he was re-claimed off waivers by the Ducks and went on to play 67 games with them, scoring 19 goals and adding 22 assists for 41 points, surpassing Paul Kariya's club record 39-point rookie season in 1994–95 (Kunitz still qualified as a first-year player because he did not play the minimum required games with Anaheim in 2003–04 to register as his NHL rookie season; the record was broken the following season by Dustin Penner's 45 points).
Kunitz and the lip of Roberto Luongo's crease.
In the 2006–07 NHL season, Kunitz improved to 25 goals and 60 points. He went on to help the Ducks advanced through the playoffs, past the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings, en route to a Finals victory against the Ottawa Senators to capture both his and the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. Kunitz had been injured during the semi-finals against the Red Wings, but returned late in the Stanley Cup Finals against Ottawa to help clinch the championship in game five.
The next season, in 2007–08, Kunitz was named one of the team's alternate captains, his first time with the Ducks and his professional career. In regards to Kunitz' new position, Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle explained, "Rob Niedermayer was an [alternate] last year and did a fine job, and we thought it was important to involve our younger players in the leadership role. Chris Kunitz fit that role."[citation needed] However, Kunitz's production dipped to 50 points that season and in the midst of another slow season in 2008–09, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with prospect Eric Tangradi for defenseman Ryan Whitney. The move was also precipitated by a need for secondary scoring on the Penguins behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. During the 2009 playoffs, he recorded 1 goal and 13 assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings. On November 6, 2010, Kunitz played his 400th career game and recorded a goal in that game against the Phoenix Coyotes.[2]
International play
Medal record Competitor for CanadaIce hockey World Championships Silver 2008 Kunitz made his international hockey debut for Team Canada at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.[3] He contributed 7 points in 9 games, helping Canada to a silver medal.
Awards
- Won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
- Won a World Championships silver medal with Team Canada in 2008.
Personal life
Kunitz attended Michael A. Riffel High School in northwest Regina, graduating in 1997. Ten years after his graduation, he brought the Stanley Cup back to Riffel in July 2007 when he had his day with the trophy. He also took the Stanley Cup back to his college town (Ferris State University, Big Rapids Michigan) on the same day.[4] On August 11, 2009, Kunitz brought the trophy back to Regina and had a larger celebration in the city's downtown. Kunitz admitted that during his first visit, he had a low-key celebration at Riffel as a result of teammate Ryan Getzlaf's profile. Kunitz married Chicago native Maureen Pfeiffer in July 2008. The couple reside in both Pittsburgh and Chicago.[1]
On April 15, 2009, Chris and his wife Maureen welcomed their first child, Zachary James.[5] Kunitz earned a degree in marketing and business from Ferris State. While attending the school, he became a fan of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers.[citation needed]
On April 5, 2011, the couple welcomed their daughter, Payton Marie.[citation needed]
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1999–00 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 38 20 9 29 70 — — — — — 2000–01 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 37 16 13 29 81 — — — — — 2001–02 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 35 28 10 38 68 — — — — — 2002–03 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 42 35 44 79 56 — — — — — 2003–04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 21 0 6 6 12 — — — — — 2003–04 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 59 19 25 44 101 9 3 2 5 24 2004–05 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 54 22 17 39 71 12 1 7 8 20 2005–06 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2005–06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 67 19 22 41 69 16 3 5 8 8 2005–06 Portland Pirates AHL 5 0 4 4 12 — — — — — 2006–07 Anaheim Ducks NHL 81 25 35 60 81 13 1 5 6 19 2007–08 Anaheim Ducks NHL 82 21 29 50 80 6 0 2 2 8 2008–09 Anaheim Ducks NHL 62 16 19 35 55 — — — — — 2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 20 7 11 18 16 24 1 13 14 19 2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 50 13 19 32 39 13 4 7 11 8 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 66 23 25 48 47 6 1 0 1 6 NHL totals 451 124 166 290 401 78 10 32 42 68 International statistics
Year Country Event GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Canada WC 9 2 5 7 4 Senior int'l totals 9 2 5 7 4 References
- ^ a b "Ferris State Press Release". http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/sports/hockey/archives/0203news/kunitzhobeyfinalist.htm.
- ^ "Kunitz no Hossa, but still helps the Pens". ESPN. 2009-02-26. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3937237. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ "Getzlaf, Kunitz Named to Team Canada". http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=361714.
- ^ "Stanley Cup Journal". http://www.hhof.com/html/exSCJ07_20.shtml.
- ^ http://penguins.nhl.com/v2/ext/pdf/1011_PittsburghPenguins-MediaGuide.pdf
External links
Categories:- 1979 births
- Living people
- Anaheim Ducks players
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey players
- Ferris State University alumni
- Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
- Melville Millionaires alumni
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
- People from Regina, Saskatchewan
- Sportspeople from Saskatchewan
- Stanley Cup champions
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
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