Christopher Thomas Tamer (born November 17, 1970 in Dearborn,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) is a retired American

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 played in the

NHL 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 ...

with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, and

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

Hockey career

As a youth, Tamer played in the 1983

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 Michigan Dynamos

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. After playing two years in the junior league, Tamer was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round, 68th overall. Upon being drafted Tamer played for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for four years where he established himself as a strong defenseman and hard hitter. After college, he reported to the Penguins minor league affiliate

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

for the 1993–1994 season. That season he also made his debut with the Penguins, playing in 12 games. After another year split between the Penguins and the Lumberjacks Tamer played with the Penguins full-time for another three years. Shortly into the 1998–1999 season Tamer was traded to the New York Rangers. Following that season the newly formed

picked up Tamer in the

1999 NHL Expansion Draft The 1999 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1999–2000 season, the Atlanta Thrashers. The draft took place on June 25, 1999 in Boston, Mas ...

. He played with the Thrashers for five years, providing veteran experience for the young team. He enjoyed the best season of his career during the 2000–2001 season, scoring 17 points and playing all 82 games in the season, the only time he played the full 82 game schedule. For the 2005–2006 season Tamer played in 14 games with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

before retiring. In 2016, Tamer was named an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship.

Personal life

Tamer is married to Keely (née Libby) Tamer and they have three children together. Tamer is the owner of Crossfit Brighton.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamer, Chris 1970 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Atlanta Thrashers players Chicago Wolves players Cleveland Lumberjacks players Ice hockey players from Michigan Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players