Christian David Hanson (born March 10, 1986) is a former 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 h ...

player. He last played in 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 ...

organization in the NHL. Hanson played college hockey for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. He was not selected in the

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, but signed a contract as a free agent with 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 ...

after his senior season.

Playing career

He attended high school at

Peters Township High School Peters Township High School is a public high school that is located in McMurray, Pennsylvania, United States. The current building was built in 2021. This new building was constructed just up the road from the old school, and was constructed at a c ...

, where he was a member of their Pennsylvania State AA Hockey Championship teams. He played Midget "AAA" hockey for the Pittsburgh Hornets, where he was a teammate of

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

prospect Patrick Mullen. Hanson was signed to a two-year, $1.575-million contract with the

on March 31, 2009, which included an annual $87,500 signing bonus. Hanson made his NHL debut on April 3, 2009 against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

. Four nights later, Hanson scored his first career NHL goal against Martin Brodeur in a 4–1 win over the New Jersey Devils. This goal tied his father's career goal mark as well. On April 10, 2010, Hanson recorded his first short-handed goal and his first multi-goal game versus Montreal. Hanson was selected to join the Team USA roster for the 2010 World Hockey Championship. Hanson played for Planet USA in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game in Portland, Maine. On 10 July 2011, 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, a ...

signed Hanson as an unrestricted free agent, and he was assigned to play in the AHL 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. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

for the

2011–12 AHL season The 2011–12 AHL season was the 76th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 7, 2011, and concluded on April 15, 2012. The 2012 Calder Cup playoffs follows the conclusion of the regular season. Regular season ...

. On July 9, 2012, Hanson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. The contract paid Hanson $600,000 if he played in the NHL and $105,000 while playing with the Bruins' AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Hanson spent the entire duration of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season with Providence and contributed 29 points in 67 games. On August 20, 2013, Hanson agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues. He played with the Blues' AHL affiliate, 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 ...

, for the 2013–2014 season. In a 2017 article for ''

The Players' Tribune ''The Players' Tribune'' is a new media platform that produces daily sports conversation and publishes first-person stories from professional athletes. The platform was founded by former professional Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter in ...

'', Hanson said that he had retired from professional ice hockey and is working at Sutton Special Risk, a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based insurance company for which he is Assistant Vice President, Sports.

Family

His father is Dave Hanson, who also played professional hockey and starred as one of the

Hanson Brothers The Hanson Brothers are fictional characters in the 1977 movie ''Slap Shot''. The characters are based on the Carlson brothers, who were actual hockey players. The movie, which stars Paul Newman, was written by Nancy Dowd. The story was based ...

in the movie '' Slap Shot''.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Christian 1986 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Chicago Wolves players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from New York (state) Ice hockey players from Pennsylvania Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Washington County, Pennsylvania Providence Bruins players Sportspeople from Glens Falls, New York Stavanger Oilers players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Tri-City Storm players Undrafted National Hockey League players