James Parker Slater (born December 9, 1982) is an American 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He spent the entirety of his

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) career with 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 ...

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 ...

organization.

Playing career

As a youth, Slater played in the 1996

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 Detroit Little Caesars

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 c ...

team. Slater was drafted in the first round, 30th overall, by the

in the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

. He played for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

for four years. He joined the Thrashers for their 2005–06 season opener before being demoted to their 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 four games. After he scored two points in those four games, he was called up and stayed with the Thrashers for the rest of the season. Slater joined the Winnipeg Jets in 2011 upon the Atlanta Thrashers' relocation there. On June 13, 2012, Slater renewed his contract with the Jets, signing a 3-year, $4.8 million contract. Slater was the longest tenured player with the Jets/Thrashers organization, having played with them since the 2005-06 season up to and including the 2014-15 season. On September 29, 2015, he signed with Genève-Servette of the

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

(NLA). His NLA debut was delayed due to a work permit issue. Slater eventually made his debut for Geneva on October 9, 2015 in

Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...

and scored his first goal that same day. On January 9, 2016, Slater was severely hit to the head by teammate

Matt D'Agostini Matthew Vincent D'Agostini (born October 23, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League (NL). He was drafted in the sixth round, 190th overall, by the Montreal Cana ...

and suffered a concussion and a severe cervical spine injury. He eventually returned to game action a few weeks later. Slater was suspended one game for checking

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

Julien Vauclair Julien Vauclair (born October 2, 1979) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenseman who spent most of his career with HC Lugano in the National League (NL). He made his professional debut in 1996 with HC Ajoie in Switzerland's second ti ...

to the head in Game 2 of the NLA semi-finals. On May 27, 2016, Slater was signed to a one-year contract extension by Geneva. Slater underwent foot surgery in the off-season and missed most of training camp. On September 1, 2016, Slater was named captain of Genève-Servette. Slater missed the end of the 2016–17 regular season as a healthy scratch, after displaying poor performances and a lack of energy.

Daniel Vukovic Daniel Vukovic (born February 19, 1986) is a Canadian- Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for Genève-Servette HC and SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in the National League (NL). He has dual citizenship in Canada and Sw ...

took over the captaincy before Slater was inserted back in the lineup for the start of the 2017 playoffs. Slater played his last game for Geneva on March 7, 2017 in game 2 of the 1/4 finals, before being taken out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.

Cody Almond Cody Almond (born July 24, 1989) is a Canadian-born Swiss professional ice hockey centre for Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). He has formerly played for the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Almond was ori ...

assumed the captaincy as Vukovic was suspended. On July 21, 2017, as a free agent, Slater agreed to a one-year contract with

HC Fribourg-Gottéron HC Fribourg-Gottéron is a professional ice hockey team based in Fribourg, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). The team is the sixth most attended team in Switzerland for the 2015/16 season with 6,156 spectators. History The ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). He spent two seasons with the club, skating in 93 games. On September 3, 2018, Slater was named to Michigan State's staff as a volunteer assistant coach, effectively ending his professional hockey career. On September 20, 2019, he joined 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) ...

' Player Development Department.

Personal life

His father, Bill Slater, was a defensive lineman in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{Uncited category, biography of a living person, cat1=People from Lapeer, Michigan, cat2=Sportspeople from Metro Detroit, date=March 2023 1982 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Atlanta Thrashers players Chicago Wolves players HC Fribourg-Gottéron players Genève-Servette HC players Ice hockey players from Michigan Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of the United States People from Lapeer, Michigan Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Winnipeg Jets players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans