Kenneth William Robert Klee (born April 24, 1971) 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 ...

who played most notably with 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 ...

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).

Early life

Klee was born in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The son of a project engineer whose job required frequent moves, he spent portions of his childhood in Indianapolis,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to

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 ...

and the St. Michael's Buzzers on a hockey scholarship as a 17-year-old.

Playing career

Klee was drafted 177th overall by the

in the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

. Klee would not play for the Capitals until the 1994–95 season, but it did not take him long to become a regular on the squad. Klee played with the Capitals until the end of the 2002–03 season. Klee had played in Washington for 9 seasons, and played in 604 games (regular season and playoffs) when he then became a free agent and signed 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 ...

on September 27, 2003. In Klee's first season in Toronto, he registered career highs in assists (25) and points (29) despite missing 16 games. On March 8, 2006, a day before the NHL's trading deadline, Klee was traded by the struggling Maple Leafs to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for winger

Alexander Suglobov Aleksander Mikhailovich Suglobov (russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Сугло́бов; born 15 January 1982) is a Russian former professional ice hockey right wing. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League with the New ...

. On July 24, 2006, Klee signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

as a free agent for the 2006–07 season. Klee finished the season leading the Avalanche with a plus/minus of 18. On July 2, 2007, Klee signed a two-year contract with the Atlanta Thrashers. On September 26, 2008, into the final year of his contract with the Thrashers, Klee was dealt along with

Brad Larsen Brad Larsen (born June 28, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before coaching, he played in the NHL with the Colorado ...

and Chad Painchaud to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman

Mathieu Schneider Mathieu David Schneider (born June 12, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Considered an offensive defenseman, Schneider played 1,289 games in the National Hockey League with ten different teams, scoring 233 goals and tot ...

. After starting the 2008–09 season with the Ducks, Klee was claimed off re-entry waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes on October 28, 2008. After playing out the season with the Coyotes and becoming a free agent, Klee unofficially announced his retirement. Though not known as a goal scorer, 13 of his 55 career goals were game-winning goals, the highest percentage in NHL history.

International play

Klee represent United States at the

1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1991 WJHC'') was the 15th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in various communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Canada won its second consecutive gold medal, and fifth o ...

and senior level at the

1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 1992 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 56th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams representing a record 32 countries participated in several levels of competition. The competition also serve ...

, 1997 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and also at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

Coaching career

Klee was the head coach for the U.S. squad that finished second during his first Four Nations Cup in 2014 (2-0-1-1). That season, he also guided the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team to a first-place finish during his first campaign behind the bench for the U.S. in the 2014 Under-22 Series, defeating Canada in all three games. Klee led the U.S. Women's National Team to the gold medal at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship in Malmo, Sweden. He also guided the U.S. to a first-place finish at the 2015 Under-22 Series, defeating Canada two games to one. Serving in the same capacity at the 2015 Four Nations Cup in Sundsvall, Sweden, Klee led the U.S. to an undefeated record (3-1-0-0) and first championship title since 2012. The tournament marks the seventh consecutive event that Klee has been at the helm of Team USA and the third time he has been behind the bench at the Four Nations Cup. He now owns an 18-3-1-2 record overall. Klee was the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team for the 2016 Four Nations Cup in Vierumaki, Finland from Oct. 29 – Nov. 6. Klee then served as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in Kamloops, British Columbia. He led the U.S. to an undefeated record (4-1-0-0, W-OTW-OTL-L) and gold-medal. Having left the women's national team, on July 18, 2017, Klee was hired as an assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch 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 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Transactions

* Selected by

in 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He was Washington's 9th round choice, 177th overall. * Signed as a free agent by

on September 27, 2003. * Traded to New Jersey Devils by

for Aleksander Suglobov on March 8, 2006. * Signed as a free agent by

on July 24, 2006. * Signed as a free agent by Atlanta Thrashers on July 2, 2007. * Traded to Anaheim Ducks along with

and Chad Painchaud for

on September 26, 2008. * Claimed off re-entry waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes on October 28, 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klee, Ken 1971 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Anaheim Ducks players Atlanta Thrashers players Baltimore Skipjacks players Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players Bowling Green State University alumni Colorado Avalanche players Ice hockey players from Indiana Ice hockey people from Missouri New Jersey Devils players Phoenix Coyotes players Portland Pirates players Sportspeople from Indianapolis Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Toronto Maple Leafs players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Ice hockey coaches from Indiana