Nelson Donald Emerson (born August 17, 1967) 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 h ...

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 for eight teams 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 ...

during his 12-year career, which lasted from 1990 to 2002.

Playing career

Emerson grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

with the Waterford Wildcats of the OMHA. Emerson was selected in the 7th round (92nd overall) of the 1985 OHL Priority Selection by the Guelph Platers after spending the 1984-85 season with the Stratford Cullitons Jr.B. (OHA) club. Emerson, however, elected to pursue an NCAA scholarship and spent a second year playing with the Cullitons before attending Bowling Green State University (CCHA) in Ohio in 1986-87. Emerson was drafted in the third round, 44th overall, by 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

1985 NHL Entry Draft The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the 23rd NHL Entry Draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams sele ...

. After playing four seasons at the

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, where Emerson was a 3-time finalist for the

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 ...

, Emerson made his professional debut with the Blues' IHL affiliate, the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

, at the end of the 1989–90 season. In his first and only full season with the Rivermen, 1990–91, he scored 36 goals and added 79 assists. Emerson joined the Blues in the 1991–92 season, and scored 132 points in his two full seasons with them. He joined the

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, p ...

before the 1993–94 season, and had the most productive campaign of his NHL career that year (33 goals, 41 assists). He played one more season with the Jets before leaving for the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

before the 1995–96 season. Emerson played two seasons in Hartford, then moved along with the franchise as it became the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

in the 1997–98 season. During the 1998–99 season, Emerson became a member of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. Later in the same season, the Blackhawks traded him to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in exchange for Chris Murray. Emerson joined the expansion Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999–2000 season, and played 58 games with them. He was traded late in the season, along with

Kelly Buchberger Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders ...

, to the

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 ...

in exchange for

Donald Audette Donald Daniel Audette (born September 23, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Mont ...

and Frantisek Kaberle. Emerson would remain with the Kings until retiring following the 2001–02 season. Emerson appeared in 771 NHL games in his career, scoring 195 goals and adding 293 assists. He also appeared in 40 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring seven goals and recording 15 assists. Emerson was hired by the Los Angeles Kings as a video and player development consultant and, after 2 seasons, was promoted to assistant coach/development coordinator on August 4, 2008. He is currently Director of Player Personnel for the Kings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Nelson 1967 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Carolina Hurricanes players Chicago Blackhawks players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Ontario Los Angeles Kings coaches Los Angeles Kings players Ottawa Senators players Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Sportspeople from Norfolk County, Ontario Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Canadian ice hockey coaches AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans