Rhett Gardner (born February 28, 1996) is a Canadian 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 ...

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currently playing for the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the t ...

in 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) as a prospect to the Dallas Stars of 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

Gardner was born on February 28, 1998, in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada to parents Rob and Renee Gardner.

Playing career

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Gardner was drafted in the second round of the 2011

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) Bantam Draft by the

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadi ...

while captaining the Moose Jaw Generals. However, he never played for the team as his rights were traded to Brandon Wheat Kings on January 10. Following the trade, Gardner informed the Wheat Kings he would not report to them as he had committed to play

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collegiate ice hockey with the

North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team (UND) is the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and compete in National Co ...

team. While attending Vanier Collegiate Institute, Gardner played with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. During the 2013–14 season, he earned AJHL All-Rookie Team honors after recording 13 goals and 24 assists in 52 games. As a result of his play, he was selected to represent Team Canada at the

World Junior A Challenge The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament showcases Juni ...

, winning a bronze medal in 2013.

Collegiate

Gardner joined the North Dakota Fighting Hawks as a freshman for their 2015–16 season, where he helped them win their first NCAA Championship title in 16 years. During the season, he tied for fourth on the team with 11 goals which also ranked second-most among freshmen. He also won 280 faceoffs, which was the second-most in program history. In January 2016, Gardner was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Week after scored four goals over two games. As he helped the team clinch their NCAA title, Gardner became the first former Okotoks Oiler player to win a national title. He finished his rookie campaign being named to the NCHC's 2015–16 Academic All-Conference Freshman Team. Prior to his sophomore season, Gardner was drafted in the fourth round, 116th overall, by the Dallas Stars in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

. He returned to the Fighting Hawks for their 2016–17 season where he set a new career high in points, assists, and power-play goals. At the conclusion of the season, Gardner was again selected for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team. On April 11, 2017, Gardner was named an assistant captain alongside Trevor Olson and Johnny Simonson for the 2017–18 season.

Professional

On March 19, 2019, having concluded his collegiate career, Gardner was signed to a two-year,

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Dallas Stars. He was subsequently assigned to the Stars'

(AHL) affiliate, the

, for the remainder of their 2018–19 season. Gardner recorded his first professional assist on Colin Markison’s game-winning goal during a 5–2 win over the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

on March 29, 2019. Gardner was invited to participate in the Dallas Stars' 2019 training camp prior to the start of the 2019–20 season but was re-assigned to the AHL on September 17. He was re-called to the NHL on October 4 prior the Texas Stars' opening night. Gardner made his NHL debut on October 5 against the St. Louis Blues, logging four faceoff wins and one hit in 12:04 time on ice. He played in six more games for Dallas, posting eight shots on goal and seven hits, before being re-assigned to the AHL. Upon joining the Dallas Stars, he records his first career NHL assist in a 2–1 shootout win over the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

on March 14. His point, an assist, came off a goal from

Joe Pavelski Joseph James Pavelski (born July 11, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the San Jose Sharks for the first thirteen years of ...

who had redirected Joel Kiviranta's shot on goal. A few games later, on March 21, 2021, Gardner scored his first NHL goal in a game against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. On June 24, 2021, Gardner was signed to a two-year, $1.5 million contract extension with the Stars. The deal is two-way for the 2021–22 season and one-way for 2022–23 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Rhett 1996 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Dallas Stars draft picks Dallas Stars players Green Bay Gamblers players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Okotoks Oilers players Texas Stars players