- Chris Stewart (ice hockey)
-
Chris Stewart 
Born October 30, 1987
Toronto, ON, CANHeight 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight 228 lb (103 kg; 16 st 4 lb) Position Right wing Shoots Right NHL team
Former teamsSt. Louis Blues
Colorado AvalancheNational team 
CanadaNHL Draft 18th overall, 2006
Colorado AvalanchePlaying career 2007–present Chris Stewart (born October 30, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL). Chris is the younger brother of Anthony Stewart, who plays for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Contents
Early years
Chris was the second of seven children—he has five younger sisters—born to Norman Stewart, a Jamaican immigrant, and Sue, his Canadian mother. Chris grew up quite poor but he still loved to play hockey.[1] He and Anthony played with the North York Jr. Canadiens, and thanks to a representative of the team, his hockey was paid for entirely. He also liked football, and seriously considered playing it throughout his high school years at West Hill Collegiate Institute.[2] Growing up, Chris became friends with fellow Toronto native hockey player, Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers, and they return to Toronto as house-mates during the off-season.[3]
Playing career
Kingston Frontenacs
Prior to the 2004-05, Chris' older brother Anthony Stewart, who was the captain of the Kingston Frontenacs, put his reputation on the line when he asked Frontenacs general manager Larry Mavety to give Chris the chance to try out with the Frontenacs as an undrafted free agent. Mavety complied, and Chris made the team in training camp, allowing the brothers to play together on the same team.[2] Initially given the position with the Frontenacs as an energetic fighting role player, Stewart took advantage of his increased playing time, and had a solid rookie season, scoring 18 goals and 30 points in 64 games.[4] Stewart played in his first OHL game on September 26, 2004, getting no points in a 4-3 loss to the Brampton Battalion. Stewart scored his first goal in the league on October 3, 2004, beating Sudbury Wolves goaltender Patrick Ehelechner in a 6-4 loss. The Frontenacs failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
In 2005-06, Stewart had a breakout season, as he was named as an assistant captain, while scoring 37 goals and 87 points in 62 games to finish second in team scoring, helping Kingston to a playoff berth. In six playoff games, Stewart had two goals, as the Frontenacs lost to the Sudbury Wolves in the first round of the playoffs.
On October 13, 2006, the Frontenacs revealed Stewart as the new captain of the team for the 2006-07 season at the Kingston Memorial Centre before a game against the Guelph Storm. Stewart had another solid season with Kingston, as he had 36 goals and 82 points in 61 games, finishing second in team scoring once again. In the post-season, Stewart had four goals and six points in five games, as the Frontenacs lost to the Oshawa Generals in the opening round of the playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche
Stewart made his professional debut with the Albany River Rats of the AHL at the end of the 2006-07 season. He played his first game with the team on April 4, 2007, getting no points in a 3-2 loss to the Springfield Falcons. Stewart recorded his first point, an assist, on April 6, 2007, as Albany defeated the Binghamton Senators 7-3. He then scored his first professional goal on April 14, 2007, as Stewart scored on Corey Crawford of the Norfolk Admirals in a 6-5 loss. In the playoffs, Stewart appeared in one game, getting no points, as the River Rats lost to the Hershey Bears in the first round.
In 2007-08, the Avalanche moved their AHL affiliate to Cleveland, Ohio, and renamed the team to the Lake Erie Monsters. Stewart spent the entire season with Lake Erie, scoring a team high 25 goals, while finishing third in points with 44, however, Lake Erie missed the playoffs. Stewart recorded a hat trick on November 17, 2007, scoring three times on Toronto Marlies goaltender Justin Pogge in a 5-3 Monsters victory.
Stewart began the 2008-09 season with the Monsters, appearing in 19 games, scoring five goals and 11 points. He was then called up to the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL on December 5, 2008.
He played in his first NHL game that night, getting no points and a -1 rating in 7:29 of ice time in the Avalanche's 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.[5][6] On December 9, 2008, Stewart scored his first career NHL goal, a shorthanded goal against Jason Labarbera of the Los Angeles Kings, and added an assist in a 6-1 victory.[7] On January 21, 2009, he earned his first ever Gordie Howe hat trick, which is a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game in a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Stewart finished the 2008-09 season with 11 goals and 19 points in 53 games with Colorado, however, the team did not qualify for the playoffs.
Stewart saw very little time with Lake Erie in 2009-10, appearing in just two games with the Monsters, getting no points. He spent the majority of the 2009-10 season with the Avalanche, and on December 2, 2009, Stewart had another Gordie Howe hat trick, while recording his first three point game in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers. On March 6, 2010, Stewart recorded his first career hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in a 7-3 win, scoring two goals against Chris Mason, followed by a penalty shot goal against Ty Conklin, while adding an assist to finish with a career high four points in a game. He finished the season leading the Avalanche with 28 goals, while finishing second in team scoring with 64 points, helping the club into the playoffs. Stewart played in his first NHL playoff game on April 14, 2010, scoring a goal with 50 seconds left in the game against Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks in a 2-1 Colorado win. Stewart finished the playoffs with three goals in six games, as the Avalanche lost to the Sharks in the first round of post-season.
In the off-season, Stewart signed a two-year contract with the Avlanche,[8] and began the 2010-11 season with Colorado, and on October 28, 2010, he earned his second career hat trick in a 6-5 Avalanche win over the Calgary Flames, scoring all three goals against Henrik Karlsson. On February 19, 2011, the Avalanche traded Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and the Avalanche's second round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to the St. Louis Blues for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and the Blues first round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[9] He finished with 13 goals and 30 points in 36 games with Colorado.
St. Louis Blues
Stewart finished the 2010-11 with the St. Louis Blues and made his debut with the team on February 19, 2011, scoring two goals against Timo Pielmeier in a 9-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks]].[10] He finished with 15 goals and 23 points in 26 games with the Blues, however, they failed to qualify for the playoffs.
International career
Stewart played with Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Championship held in Slovakia, where in seven games, he recorded two goals and four points. Canada struggled in the tournament, and finished in fifth place.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2004–05 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 64 18 12 30 45 — — — — — 2005–06 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 62 37 50 87 118 6 2 0 2 13 2006–07 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 61 36 46 82 108 5 4 2 6 6 2006–07 Albany River Rats AHL 5 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 2007–08 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 77 25 19 44 93 — — — — — 2008–09 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 19 5 6 11 23 — — — — — 2008–09 Colorado Avalanche NHL 53 11 8 19 54 — — — — — 2009–10 Colorado Avalanche NHL 77 28 36 64 73 6 3 0 3 4 2009–10 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2010–11 Colorado Avalanche NHL 36 13 17 30 38 — — — — — 2010–11 St. Louis Blues NHL 26 15 8 23 15 — — — — — NHL totals 192 67 69 136 180 6 3 0 3 4 International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2011 Canada WC 7 2 2 4 0 Senior int'l totals 7 2 2 4 0 See also
- List of black NHL players
References
- ^ Rosen, Dan (1 March 2009). "Stewart proving he belongs in Colorado". National Hockey League. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=411334. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ a b McGourty, John (2 January 2009). "Right wing trio adds to NHL's expanding diversity". National Hockey League. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=406830. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ Dater, Adrian (2010-10-24). "Stewart, Simmonds back under the same roof again". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_16418912. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- ^ Kimelman, Adam (2010-10-18). "Brotherly influence got Avs' Stewart back into hockey". National Hockey League. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=540632. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Avalanche Recalls Stewart". Colorado Avalanche. 5 December 2008. http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=427034. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Stancher, Craig (6 December 2008). "Chris Stewart Discusses NHL Debut". Colorado Avalanche. http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=427416. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Dater, Adrian (10 December 2008). "Avs' early lead stands". The Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_11181819. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ Dater, Adrian (2 September 2010). "Avalanche signs Stewart to a two-year deal". The Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_15976445. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ "Blues send former No.1 pick Johnson to Avalanche". The Sports Network. 2011-02-19. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=354489. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Goals galore as Stewart has 2 in debut". Stltoday.com. 2011-02-20. http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/article_c27d66f1-3e44-58cd-ba89-0ec23bf5818d.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
External links
Preceded by
Wojtek WolskiColorado Avalanche first round draft pick
2006Succeeded by
Kevin ShattenkirkCategories:- 1987 births
- Black Canadian sportspeople
- Canadian ice hockey forwards
- Colorado Avalanche draft picks
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Canadian people of Jamaican descent
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Kingston Frontenacs alumni
- Lake Erie Monsters players
- Living people
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- People from Scarborough, Ontario
- Sportspeople from Toronto
- St. Louis Blues players
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