Tyler Kennedy (born July 15, 1986) 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 ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

centre 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 eccentri ...

who played nine seasons 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) for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. He was selected by the Penguins in the fourth round, 99th overall, of the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout ...

Playing career

Junior and Pittsburgh Penguins

Kennedy was drafted by the

in the fourth round, 99th overall, of the

. After being selected, Kennedy played two seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL). He then began playing for Pittsburgh's

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) affiliate, the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

, for the 2006–07 season. The next season, 2007–08, Kennedy then played in his first NHL game on October 27, 2007, against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He later scored his first career NHL goal on November 3 against the New York Islanders. Tyler Kennedy

In his debut season, Kennedy was named to the NHL's YoungStars Team in 2008 alongside Penguins teammate Kris Letang. However, Kennedy was unable to compete in the game due to

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. In September 2008, just prior to the 2008–09 season, the Penguins signed Kennedy to a new contract effective through to the 2010–11 season. In the

2009 Stanley Cup Finals The 2009 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2008–09 season, and the culmination of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguin ...

against the Detroit Red Wings, Kennedy scored a goal in Game 4 of the series, also adding the game-winning goal in Game 6. The Penguins would go on to defeat Detroit in seven games to win the Stanley Cup. Although up to this point Kennedy has had a low profile in terms of hockey fame, he attracted some notoriety when Penguins fans and ultimately the public address announcer at

Mellon Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

would chant his name in the style of former

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE) wrestler

Mr. Kennedy Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler. Anderson is known for his tenure with WWE from 2005 to 2009 under the ring name Mr. Kennedy, and his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Mr. Anderson from 2010 to 2 ...

(Ken Anderson). During the 2011 off-season, Kennedy signed a new contract with the Penguins, although his signing caused some controversy when it was reported that Pittsburgh may have deterred former Penguin legend

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguin ...

by signing Kennedy. Jágr later signed with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

, Pittsburgh's state rivals. Early in the 2011–12 season with the Penguins, Kennedy was sidelined by a concussion. He finished the season with 33 points in 60 games.

San Jose Sharks

During the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Al ...

, Kennedy was traded to the

in exchange for a second-round draft pick. His production declined upon arriving in San Jose, scoring only 4 goals and 17 points in 67 games.

New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils

The following season, Kennedy was traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for a conditional third-round pick 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 finished the season appearing in 13 regular season games for the club and three games during the

2015 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 15, 2015, and ended on June 15, 2015, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to two in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals. The New Y ...

. In September 2015, Kennedy attended the New Jersey Devils' training camp on a professional try-out (PTO) contract; he was released after appearing in three pre-season games. Unsigned after the first quarter of the 2015–16 season played, Kennedy returned to the Devils in training with the club on another PTO contract on November 18, 2015. On November 27, Kennedy signed a one-year, two-way contract with New Jersey worth $600,000. Appearing in 50 games for the team, Kennedy scored 3 goals and 16 points.

Retirement

Kennedy announced his retirement from professional hockey on January 3, 2017. He finished his NHL career with 89 goals and 215 points in 527 games, as well as one Stanley Cup win.

Personal life

Kennedy married Brandi Engel on May 9, 2014, in Maui,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The couple has three children. He obtained American citizenship in December 2022.

Awards

* Stanley Cup champion – 2009

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tyler 1986 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders players Ice hockey people from Ontario Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players San Jose Sharks players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Stanley Cup champions Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Worcester Sharks players