Chris Thorburn (born June 3, 1983) 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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played over 800 games in the

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 ...

(NHL). Thorburn was known for his physical play and capabilities as a fighter.

Early life

Thorburn was born on June 3, 1983, in

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

, Canada to parents Linda and Mark Thorburn. He grew up in Ontario with two brothers and two sisters, along with numerous cousins from both sides of the family. His first cousin Chrissy Colizza plays for the

McGill Martlets ice hockey The McGill Martlets ice hockey team represents McGill University, based in Montreal, Quebec in U Sports women's ice hockey. They are members of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) and have won four U Sports women's ice hockey champio ...

, a school which three of his uncles attended.

Playing career

Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Thorburn played most of his

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 ...

in the Sault Major Hockey Association (NOHA). He played in the 1997

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 a team from Sault Ste. Marie. He later played for the Soo Thunder Minor Bantam club before making the jump to Tier II Jr.A. hockey with the

Elliot Lake Vikings The Elliot Lake Vikings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team that originally began playing in the International Junior B Hockey League in 1965. In 1981, the team moved to the Tier II Junior A Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was ...

of the

NOJHL The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league and member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The winner of the NOJHL playoffs competes for the Dudley Hewitt Cup ...

. After an impressive season as a 15-year-old in the NOJHL, Thorburn was selected in the first round (6th overall) as an underage by the

North Bay Centennials The North Bay Centennials were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario. History The North Bay Centennials or "Cents" as they were popularly known, were named afte ...

in the 1999 OHL Priority Selection. By 2019, he was the last North Bay Centennials player to be an active player in the NHL. He was drafted 50th overall by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...

. However, after returning to the OHL for the 2001–2002 season, the Centennials were sold to Saginaw and he split his season between the Saginaw Spirit and the Plymouth Whalers. On December 2, 2005, Thorburn made his NHL debut in 5-0 loss to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

and recorded his first career NHL point the following game against the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. He was returned to American Hockey League on December 7, after playing in two games. On October 3, 2006, Thorburn was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. He recorded his first career NHL goal on November 6, 2006, in a 3–2 overtime loss against the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

. After one season with the Penguins, Thorburn was traded to the

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 ...

for a third-round pick in the

2007 NHL Entry Draft The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007. The draft ...

Enjoying a career year during the 2010–11 season and in his fourth year with the Thrashers, Thorburn was signed to a three-year contract extension on February 26, 2011. On June 30, 2014, the Winnipeg Jets re-signed Thorburn to a three-year, $3.6 million contract extension. On June 21, 2017, as an impending free agent from the Jets, he was left exposed and claimed by the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

in the

2017 NHL Expansion Draft Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

. For selecting Thorburn the Jets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

in exchange for Columbus' first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft which was previously acquired by the Golden Knights. Although being selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Thorburn would become a free agent. On July 1, 2017, he signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. In the 2018–19 season, Thorburn made one appearance with the Blues before he was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

, for the majority of the campaign. Thorburn was later recalled by the Blues, and despite not playing he was a part of the extended roster in the playoffs as the Blues claimed their first

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

in franchise history. Thorburn announced his retirement on June 22, 2020 via a written statement released by the NHLPA. In an NHL career that spanned from 2006 to 2019, Thorburn scored 134 points in 801 career NHL games.

Personal life

Thorburn is married to Sara Thorburn and they have two children together. After their oldest child was diagnosed with autism, the couple began organizing fundraisers to raise money towards

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

programs at schools. In 2018, they raised $20,000 towards their sons local special needs teacher at Flynn Park Elementary School.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorburn, Chris 1983 births Atlanta Thrashers players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Ontario Living people North Bay Centennials players Pittsburgh Penguins players Plymouth Whalers players Rochester Americans players Saginaw Spirit players Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario St. Louis Blues players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Winnipeg Jets players