Steve Kelly (born October 26, 1976) 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 hock ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played 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) with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

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 ...

and the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Playing career

Kelly played his

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

of the

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), where he compiled 254 points in 268 games. In 1995–96, Kelly tallied 101 points and 203

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

to lead the Raiders to a 47-win season and second place in the WHL Eastern Division. Kelly was then drafted in the first round, sixth overall, of the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

by the

. Despite his high draft status, Kelly has never appeared in more than 43 games in an NHL season and has just 21 points in 147 games. Kelly played just 27 games for the Edmonton Oilers during the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons before being traded in February 1998 to the

along with

Bryan Marchment Bryan William Marchment (May 1, 1969 – July 6, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets (1972–96), Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa ...

and

Jason Bonsignore Jason M. Bonsignore (born April 15, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey forward and speedway promoter and racer. Early life Bonsignore was born in Rochester, New York. As a youth, Bonsignore played in the 1990 Quebec International ...

in exchange for

Roman Hamrlík Roman Hamrlík (born April 12, 1974) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected first overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, ...

and

Paul Comrie Paul Gordon Comrie (born February 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1999–00 season. Hockey player Before his short professional care ...

. After 58 games over two seasons with the Lightning, Kelly was sent to the

prior to the 1999–2000 season, where he spent the majority of the season with their

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) affiliate, the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

. Kelly notched 57 points for Albany, but made just one appearance with the Devils. However, injuries during the Devils' playoff run forced Kelly into the NHL lineup, where he appeared in 10 games during the Devils'

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

-winning drive. In February 2001, after 25 games in New Jersey, Kelly was traded to the

for forward Bob Corkum. With L.A.'s AHL affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

, Kelly enjoyed his best statistical seasons as a pro, amassing 133 points in just 113 games from 2002–2004, and represented the Canadian All-Stars in the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic. Following the 2003–04 season, Kelly signed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL) with

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern pa ...

. In November 2005, Kelly signed with the

Frankfurt Lions The Frankfurt Lions were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty. History The hockey team was founded as a se ...

of the same league, where he scored 20 points in 22 games. In 2007, he signed with the Minnesota Wild and spent much of the season with the team's AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, before being called up at the end of the season to fill in at center. After being signed by 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, ...

and sent down to their affiliate the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

, Kelly chose to return to Europe by signing a one-year contract with

HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as HDD Olimpija or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana. They played their home games at the Tivoli Hall. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav ch ...

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

. However, after posting 3 points in only his second game in the 2009–10 season, Kelly suffered a season-ending injury and decided to terminate his contract and retire from professional hockey in order to return to Canada. While showing promise at the beginning of his pro career, Kelly is often regarded as a

draft bust A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team sele ...

during his NHL career. Many fans and media expected the Oilers to draft

Shane Doan Shane Albert Doan (born October 10, 1976) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player currently serving as chief hockey development officer for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Doan spent the entir ...

(an obvious choice who was drafted next by Winnipeg, and later become the captain of the Jets/Coyotes franchise), or

Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played over 1500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Br ...

(an Edmonton native and junior teammate of Doan's), but Edmonton drafted Kelly sixth overall instead.

Personal life

After retiring, Kelly joined the

Calgary Police Service Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mont ...

as a police officer.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Picture of Steve Kelly's Name on the 2000 Stanley Cup Plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Steve 1976 births Living people Adler Mannheim players Albany River Rats players Canadian ice hockey centres Cleveland Lumberjacks players Detroit Vipers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Frankfurt Lions players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Vancouver Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Minnesota Wild players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils players Prince Albert Raiders players Stanley Cup champions Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Slovenia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States