Jeffrey J. Jillson (born July 24, 1980) 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 hock ...

player 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 ...

for the

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 ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Playing career

Jillson was drafted 14th overall in the first round of the

1999 NHL Entry Draft The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in tale ...

by the

. Jillson played for

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

high school power

Mount Saint Charles Academy Mount Saint Charles Academy is a private Roman Catholic coeducational junior/senior high school located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. History In the late 1800s, a significant number of French C ...

, before moving on to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He signed with the Sharks at the conclusion of his junior season, but did not leave Michigan until he graduated from college with a business degree. He played 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 ...

for the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

before being called up to play for the Sharks. Jeff Jillson cropped

The Sharks traded Jillson to the Boston Bruins during the 2002–03 season, along with

Jeff Hackett Jeffrey David Hackett (born June 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Bosto ...

, for defenseman Kyle McLaren. He spent most of his season playing for the Providence Bruins. At the trade deadline of the 2003–04 season, he was involved in a three-way trade among the Bruins, Sharks, and Sabres. Jillson was sent back to the Sharks for

Brad Boyes Bradley Keith Boyes (born April 17, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who spent thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of seven different teams. Early life Boyes went to Hazel McCallion Senior P ...

, then to the Sabres for Curtis Brown and

Andy Delmore Andrew J. Delmore (born December 26, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Delmore played 283 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), recording 43 goals and 58 assists for 101 points. He was considered an offensive def ...

. He spent most of his time in the Sabres organization with their AHL affiliate, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. He played sparingly for the Sabres, but was inserted into their lineup during the

2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. This was the first playoffs since 2004 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that cancelled the previous ...

to fill one of the holes on their blueline created by injuries to

Dmitri Kalinin Dmitri Vladimirovich Kalinin (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Калинин; born July 22, 1980) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Traktor Che ...

Teppo Numminen Teppo Kalevi Numminen (born July 3, 1968) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for Tappara and TuTo of the SM-liiga and the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Sta ...

, and

Henrik Tallinder Henrik Per Tallinder (born 10 January 1979) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. Playing career Tallinder made his professional de ...

. After spending a season 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 ...

, Jillson signed with 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 ...

as a free-agent in 2007, but spent the entire season in the AHL with the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

and never played for the Avalanche. In 2008, Jillson signed with HC MVD of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

, was later released, and signed with

Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Fi ...

of the Finnish

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. On October 1, 2009, Jillson signed a one-year contract with

HC Pardubice HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at the start of the 2015� ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

. After an unproductive second season with Pardubice, Jillson chose to remain in the Czech Republic, dropping down a league to the 1. národní hokejová liga to sign a two-year contract with

KLH Chomutov KLH may refer to: *Keyhole limpet hemocyanin, a carrier protein *Kolhapur Airport (IATA code KLH), a regional airport in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India *Korean Light Helicopter, a designation used by the Republic of Korea Army *KLH (company), an audi ...

on June 27, 2011. Jillson scored 12 points in 52 games to contribute to Chomutov's promotion to the Czech Extraliga, despite the success he left his contract and was released as a free agent on May 1, 2012. In 140 regular-season NHL games (as of the end of the 2005–06 season), Jillson recorded 9 goals and 32 assists, totalling 41 points.

Personal

Jillson's younger brother, Nicholas, was killed in a house fire on February 6, 2010. In 2009, Jillson was the victim of a fraud case and was swindled out of $84,000 from the promises of motorcycle parts and a Mercedes. In July 2012, the conman was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and as a result is now pursued in a civil case by Jillson.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jillson, Jeff 1980 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres players Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Eisbären Berlin players Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia HC MVD players HC Dynamo Pardubice players Ice hockey players from Rhode Island Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Lukko players Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from North Smithfield, Rhode Island Piráti Chomutov players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Ross School of Business alumni San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Mount Saint Charles Academy alumni AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans