Tanner James Kero (born July 24, 1992) is an American 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 ...

player for the

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hoc ...

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 ...

(AHL). He has formerly 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

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 ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Amateur

Prior to his collegiate hockey career, Kero played for the Marquette Rangers in the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American professio ...

where he led the league in goals (with 32) and was named the league's "Rookie of the Year". He also played for the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

in the

USHL 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 strictly ...

where he posted 13 goals, 24 assists and 37 points in 55 games and earned a spot on the USHL Western Conference All-Star Team. Prior to turning professional, Kero attended Michigan Technological University where he played four seasons of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I hockey with the

Michigan Tech Huskies Michigan Technological University's sports teams are called the Huskies. The Huskies participate in NCAA Division II as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), a member of the Central Collegiate Ski Associatio ...

, where he registered 55 goals, 56 assists, 111 points, and 67 penalty minutes in 153 games. In his senior year, Kero's outstanding play was recognized with numerous awards including being selected as the 2014–15

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

Player of the Year and being named to the 2014–15 NCAA (West) First All-American Team.

Professional

On April 2, 2015, the

of the

(NHL) signed Kero 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 ...

. He began the 2015–16 season assigned to AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. On October 27, 2015, the Blackhawks recalled him to the NHL. He made his NHL debut on October 29, 2015, in a 3–1 loss to 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 ...

. Just 4 games later, he scored his first NHL goal on November 6, shooting past

Cory Schneider Cory Franklin Schneider (born March 18, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

, in a 4–2 loss against the New Jersey Devils. On March 23, 2017, the Blackhawks signed Kero to a two-year contract extension. On June 24, 2018, Kero was traded to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in exchange for Michael Chaput. On July 1, 2019, having left the Canucks as a free agent, Kero was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the

on July 1, 2019. Following four seasons within the Stars organization, Kero as a free agent was signed to a one-year AHL contract for the 2023–24 season with the Colorado Eagles, affiliate to 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 ...

, on July 18, 2023.

Personal life

Kero was born in

Hancock, Michigan Hancock is a city in Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 census. The Weather Channel has consistently rank ...

and is the son of Dale and Joan Kero. He has five sisters (one of them, Jordanna played for the Michigan Tech volleyball team) and four brothers; three of them: Dawson, Devin and Hunter play hockey as well. While attending Michigan Tech, Kero had a grade point average of 3.68 in mathematics.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kero, Tanner 1992 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey centers Chicago Blackhawks players Colorado Eagles players Dallas Stars players Fargo Force players Ice hockey players from Michigan Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Texas Stars players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utica Comets players