Aaron Douglas Ness (born May 18, 1990) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

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 la ...

who is currently under contract with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). He was selected by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in the 2nd round (40th overall) of the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

Playing career

Ness played High School hockey at

Roseau High School Roseau High School is a public high school in Roseau, Minnesota, United States serving students from grades 7 through 12. It is part of Roseau Community Schools, Minnesota ISD 682. The school's hockey program has matriculated several NHL and Olymp ...

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and in 2008 he received the

Minnesota Mr. Hockey The following is a list of ice hockey players who have been selected over the years to receive the Minnesota Minute Men Mr. Hockey Award as the most outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. The recipients are reviewe ...

award as the most outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. In an effort to be able to play collegiate hockey one year earlier than projected, Ness accelerated his course load during his junior year of high school in order to graduate early. A combination of 8 classes at school as well as 3.5 credits online, however, did not stop him from leading his team to a fourth-place finish at the 2008 2A State Tournament. Ness then attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, where he played three seasons of NCAA Division I college hockey with the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

. On March 16, 2011, the

signed Ness to a three-year entry-level contract. In the 2014–15 season, Ness served as team captain of AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On July 1, 2015, Ness left the Islanders organization as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. He later re-signed with the Capitals on May 16, 2018, to another one-year two-way contract. The Capitals called Ness up from Hershey on November 8, 2018, together with fellow defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler, to be available to play against the

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

the next night at home in his first NHL game. Veteran Caps defencemen

Brooks Orpik Richard Brooks Orpik (born September 26, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). A stay-at-home defenseman and locker ...

(injured reserve) and John Carlson (day-to-day) were both unavailable to play. After four seasons within the Capitals organization, Ness left as a free agent to sign a two-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2019. Having left the Coyotes organization as a free agent, Ness was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

on September 30, 2021, and was invited to the Boston Bruins training camp on a professional try-out. He was later signed to an AHL contract with affiliate, the

. On July 5, 2022, Ness as a free agent, opted to continue his career in the AHL by returning to his former club, the Hershey Bears, on July 5, 2022.

Personal life

Aaron's father, Jay, also grew up in Roseau and played collegiate hockey for the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

. Jay was drafted in the 7th round of the 1982 draft by the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

.Jay Ness at eliteprospects.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2019, from https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/194976/jay-ness.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ness, Aaron 1990 births Living people People from Roseau, Minnesota American men's ice hockey defensemen Arizona Coyotes players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Providence Bruins players Tucson Roadrunners players Washington Capitals players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of the United States