Chad William Lawrence Kilger (born November 27, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

former 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 ...

player. He played for several

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

teams, most recently the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Playing career

As a youth, Kilger played in the 1990

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Seaway Valley

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

. Kilger played two seasons of

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

with the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Frontenacs play home games at Leon's Centre, which opened in 2008. Team history predates the OHA, back to 1945, to a te ...

. He was subsequently drafted fourth overall by the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title *Th ...

in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

. He made the team that fall, but on 7 February 1996 he was traded with

Oleg Tverdovsky Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...

and a third-round draft pick to the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

for

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipe ...

Marc Chouinard Marc Chouinard (born May 6, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre- winger who played six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Biography Chouinard was born in Charlesbourg, Quebec City. As a youth, he played in the 199 ...

and a fourth-round draft choice, and subsequently spent most of his playing time with Winnipeg's minor league affiliate, the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

. Kilger's numbers did not improve until he was acquired 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 ...

. In 86 games in parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks, he scored 36 points. In March 1999, he was traded to 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 of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

with

Daniel Cleary Daniel Michael Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. He currently ser ...

Ethan Moreau Ethan Byron Moreau (born September 22, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Moreau was selected in the first round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 14th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...

, and

Christian Laflamme Christian Lucien Laflamme (born November 24, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played parts of eight seasons in the National Hockey League between 1996 and 2004. Biography As a youth, Laflamme played in the 1989 an ...

for

Boris Mironov Boris Olegovich Mironov (russian: Борис Олегович Миронов; born 21 March 1972) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is the younger brother of Dmitri Mironov. Playing career Mironov began his hockey ...

Dean McAmmond Dean W. McAmmond (born June 15, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. McAmmond played in the National Hockey League from 1992 to 2010 for nine teams. Pre-NHL career McAmmond played four seasons in the Western Hockey League wi ...

and

Jonas Elofsson Jonas Elofsson (born January 31, 1979) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He last played for Sparta Warriors. He has won two Swedish Championship with Färjestads BK in 1997 and 1998 . He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in t ...

, and in December 2000, he was sent to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

for

Sergei Zholtok Sergei Zholtok, who was also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvians, Latvian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston B ...

. He had early success, but as his ice time dropped so did his point totals. In his first season with the Canadiens he averaged 17:57 in ice time. In March 2004, he was put on waivers and claimed by the

. Kilger set the unofficial hockey record for the hardest shot on December 3, 2006, when he was clocked at , beating the old record held by former Sharks defenseman

Shawn Heins Shawn Joseph Heins (born December 24, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Atlanta Thrashers. Playing career Heins was born in Eg ...

(). The official NHL record was held at the time by former

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) ...

defenceman

Al Iafrate Albert Anthony Iafrate ( ; born March 21, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League between 1984 and 1998. He is perhaps most famous for his extremely hard slapshot. He set a record fo ...

, whose record was . Kilger's unofficial record was surpassed when

Sheldon Souray Sheldon Souray (born July 13, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks. ...

fired a shot at the Edmonton Oilers' skills competition in 2009.

Failure to report to Florida

On the NHL trade deadline date, February 26, 2008, the Leafs dealt Kilger to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

for a third-round draft pick. He immediately requested a leave of absence from Panthers' management, which was granted. However, he did not report to the team at the pre-arranged time, and on March 5, the Panthers suspended him indefinitely without pay. Kilger failed to report to training camp at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, and was officially confirmed to be retired on July 10, 2009.

Personal

Kilger and his family currently reside in Cornwall, Ontario, where all three of his children were born. His father,

Bob Kilger Robert Peter Paul Kilger (June 29, 1944 – November 29, 2021) was a Canadian politician. Born in Cornwall, Ontario, Kilger was the former Liberal member of Parliament for the Cornwall region, representing the riding Stormont—Dundas—South ...

was a former Liberal member of Parliament and formerly the mayor of the city of Cornwall. Chad was hired as a firefighter for the City of Cornwall post retirement.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilger, Chad 1976 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Edmonton Oilers players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Sportspeople from Cornwall, Ontario Kingston Frontenacs players Anaheim Ducks draft picks Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Phoenix Coyotes players Springfield Falcons players Toronto Maple Leafs players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Ice hockey people from Ontario