Thomas Patrick Chorske (born September 18, 1966) is an American 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 ...

player. A forward, he played for eleven 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). In September, 2006, he was named

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

for New Jersey Devils radio broadcasts, a position he only held for one season before resigning. He was replaced with former team color commentator

Sherry Ross Sherry Ross (born c. 1954) is an American sports broadcaster and journalist who most recently worked alongside Matt Loughlin as a color commentator for the NHL's New Jersey Devils radio broadcasts. She is the first woman to serve as an analyst ...

(who called games from 1992–1995). Chorske returned to Minnesota and now works in business and is hockey analyst for Fox Sports North covering The NHL Minnesota Wild and University of Minnesota Golden Gopher NCAA hockey games. In 2020, he was named the general manager of the St. Cloud Blizzard in the North American Hockey League.

Playing career

Following an outstanding

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

hockey career at Minneapolis Southwest High School, Chorske was named Mr. Hockey as the state's most outstanding high school player 1985, the inaugural year for the award. Soon after, Tom was selected by 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 ...

16th overall 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 being drafted, Chorske played two 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 ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

followed by a year playing with the 1987–88 US National Team preparing for the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in Calgary. Unfortunately, Chorske was the last player cut from the team as they headed to Calgary for the Olympics. Tom returned to the University of Minnesota for the 1988–89 season and was instrumental in the team's success that year. In 1989–90, Chorske played 14 games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring three goals and an assist. After another season in Montreal, he joined the New Jersey Devils, playing 76 games in 1991–92, scoring 19 goals and 36 points. In 1993–94, he had his finest offensive year, scoring 21 goals and 41 points but it was the following season which was by far the most satisfying for Chorske, his teammates and fans of the Devils. After several years of being near the top of the

NHL 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 ...

, the Devils finally put it all together in the spring of 1995, defeating the Detroit Red Wings in four straight games to claim the Stanley Cup. In 1995–96, Chorske joined 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 ...

where he played for two seasons and helped them make their first modern era playoff appearance in 1997. He then headed to New York to suit up for the Islanders where he scored 35 points, including 4 short-handed tallies. During the 1998–99 season, he was sent to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

but had abdominal surgery and was limited to 17 games before finally ending up in Calgary at the trade deadline. In 1999–2000, Chorske played 33 games with 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 ...

, his final stop in the NHL. In 2000–01, he appeared in 78 games for the Houston Aeros of the now defunct International Hockey League, scoring 27 goals and 52 points. Chorske's NHL totals were 596 games, 115 goals, 122 assists, for 237 points. Overall, he played in 733 professional games before retiring. He also played on several Team USA World Championship teams, twice winning bronze medals.

Personal life

Chorske played quarterback for Minneapolis Southwest High School football team in 1984 and 1985. He was named to his high school all-conference first team in 1984–85 and named the inaugural Mr Hockey in 1985 as Minnesota's top senior high school hockey player. He competed in 1985 U.S. National Sports Festival in Baton Rouge, La. and played on first U.S. team to win a medal at World Junior Championships when he won bronze medal in 1986. He also competed in 1986 U.S. National Sports Festival in Houston. In college, he tied for the University of Minnesota (WCHA) scoring title with 49 points and was All-WCHA First Team in 1988–89. He left the

after his junior year to pursue pro hockey career with the

. He was on Montreal team that joined Minnesota to compete in the 1990 NHL Friendship Tour in Soviet Union. During the

1994–95 NHL lockout The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining an ...

, he played in Italy. Chorske retired from hockey in 2002 and returned to University of Minnesota to complete his undergraduate degree. He was later hired as an analyst for Fox Sports North for the NHL Minnesota Wild and University of Minnesota Gopher's Hockey broadcasts in October 2010 until 2020. He also makes regular appearances on Twin Cities sports radio programs and the Minnesota State High School hockey tournament broadcasts.

Awards and honors

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chorske, Tom 1966 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers Calgary Flames players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey players from Minneapolis Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League broadcasters National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils announcers New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders players Ottawa Senators players Pittsburgh Penguins players Sherbrooke Canadiens players Stanley Cup champions Utica Devils players Washington Capitals players