Tyler Wright (born April 6, 1973) 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 h ...

player. He played in 613

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 ...

games 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 ...

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 ...

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

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

. He currently serves as director of Player Personal /director of amateur scouting for the

. Wright was born in

Canora, Saskatchewan Canora is a town, located at the junction of highways No. Saskatchewan Highway 5, 5 and Saskatchewan Highway 9, 9 in east central Saskatchewan, about 50 km north of Yorkton. It is centrally located on the corners of four adjacent rural mun ...

, but grew up in Kamsack, Saskatchewan.

Playing career

Wright was drafted 12th overall in the

1991 NHL Entry Draft The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...

by the

. As a junior with the Swift Current Broncos in 1989-90 he scored 32 points as a rookie. In 1990-91, he improved his offensive production, scoring 41 goals and 92 points in 66 games. In the 1991-92 season, he netted 36 goals and 82 points in 63 games. After being drafted by the Oilers, Wright played parts of two seasons in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

(1992–93 and 1993–94) but ultimately spent most of his time with their AHL team,

Cape Breton Oilers The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hali ...

. On June 22, 1996, Wright was acquired by the

for a 7th-round draft pick (Brandon Lafrance) and subsequently played 45 games with the Penguins during the 1996-97 season, registering 2 goals and 2 assists. In 1997-98, he joined the NHL ranks full-time and played all 82 games for the Penguins. He helped his team win the Northeast Division title and then made his playoff debut. In 1998-99, he played 61 regular-season games for the Penguins. The following year he dressed for 50 games and scored 12 goals and 22 points. In the 1999 playoffs, he scored four points in eleven games as the Penguins reached the second round. On April 21, he scored his first career playoff goal against 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 ...

. On June 23, 2000, Wright was selected in the

2000 NHL Expansion Draft The 2000 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 23, 2000, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 2000–01 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. Rules ...

by the newly formed

. In his first season with his new team, he scored 16 goals and 32 points and developed into an on ice leader for the Blue Jackets. Since 1987–88, there have been 94 hat tricks scored by a goal (i) at even strength, (ii) on the power play, and (iii) on the penalty kill, by a total of 75 different players. Wright scored two of these 94 hat tricks, with the first coming on March 16, 2001, against the Atlanta Thrashers and his second coming on October 27, 2002, against the

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 ...

. During the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

, Wright played with Swiss team EHC Biel in the second Swiss division. After four seasons in Columbus, Wright was dealt to the

on November 15, 2005, in a deal that saw

Sergei Fedorov Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). During his playing career, for which he is best known fo ...

join the Blue Jackets.

International play

On the international stage, Wright represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the 1992 and 1993 World Junior Championships. At the 1993 tournament, he was an alternate captain and helped Canada win the gold medal and was a member of Canada's World Championship team in 2002.

Post-retirement

In July 2007, Wright rejoined the

organization in a front office position when he was named a development coach for the club. His duties included working with prospects and young players throughout the organization, and assisting with the development of prospects within the professional minor leagues, various major junior leagues, and college level. On July 1, 2013, Wright resigned from the Blue Jackets. On July 10, 2013, he was named the director of amateur scouting for the Detroit Red Wings. On July 11, 2019, it was announced that Wright would depart the Detroit Red Wings and join new GM Ken Holland in Edmonton. The two previously worked together for the last six seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tyler 1973 births EHC Basel players EHC Biel players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of English descent Cape Breton Oilers players Cleveland Lumberjacks players Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Columbus Blue Jackets players Columbus Blue Jackets scouts Detroit Red Wings scouts Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Living people Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Canora, Saskatchewan Pittsburgh Penguins players Swift Current Broncos players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian ice hockey coaches