Keith Albert Aldridge (born July 20, 1973) 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 h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He played four 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 ...

with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

in the 1999–2000 season.

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Aldridge played in the 1985, 1986 and 1987

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, ...

s with the Detroit Compuware and Detroit Red Wings

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 ...

teams. Aldridge played junior hockey with the

Rochester Mustangs The Rochester Mustangs were a senior ice hockey team from Rochester, Minnesota that played in the United States Hockey League from 1961 until the senior Mustangs ceased operations after the 1969-70 season. Notable players *Herb Brooks, NHL head ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

in 1991-92, where he was named to the USHL First All-Star Team. Aldridge played college hockey for

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

of the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...

, and was voted the CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman in 1995-96. He was a member of the Lakers' NCAA National Championship team in 1993-94, and was also named to the All-Star Tournament First Team. Aldridge was also named Second Team CCHA in 1994, First Team CCHA in 1995 and 1996, NCAA West Second All-American Team in 1995, and NCAA West First All-American Team in 1996. Aldridge was a finalist for the 1996

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

that went to

Brian Bonin Brian Raymond Bonin (born November 28, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He was drafted in the ninth round, 211th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career After being named Minnes ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Professional

Aldridge 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 ...

out of college, but signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Baltimore Bandits The Baltimore Bandits were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. They played in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Baltimore Arena. The Bandits were an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Might ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

in 1996. In 1997, Aldridge signed with his hometown

Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were an International Hockey League team. The team was founded in 1994, and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Their mascot was a polar bear named Vipe-bear. History Beginning The Vipers were originally formed as the S ...

of the International Hockey League, where he was named an IHL All-Star in 1998-99. His impressive play led to a professional contract with the

of the

in 1999. Although most of his season was spent in the IHL with the affiliate

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

, he did play 4 games with the Stars. He spent the 2000-01 season with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

of the IHL. From 2001-2004, Aldridge played overseas for the Frankfurt Lions and

Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also o ...

. Aldridge signed with the New York Islanders in 2004, a move that reunited him with his college head coach Jeff Jackson, who had recently joined the Islanders staff as an assistant coach. Aldridge could not crack the NHL lineup, and he concluded his playing career in the AHL with the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

in 2005.

Post playing career

Aldridge currently serves as vice president and general manager of Indianwood Golf and Country Club in

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...

. His father, Stan Aldridge, had purchased the club in 1981. Aldridge worked at the facility through his youth before joining the organization full-time.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Keith 1973 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Baltimore Bandits players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Dallas Stars players Detroit Vipers players Eisbären Berlin players Frankfurt Lions players Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) players Ice hockey people from Detroit Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey players Living people People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan Rochester Mustangs players Undrafted National Hockey League players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans