| Position: | Centre |
| Shoots: | Right |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 200 |
| Played For: | Columbus Blue Jackets Kassel Huskies |
| Birth Date: | 16 February 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Moshi, Tanzania |
| Draft: | 36th overall |
| Draft Year: | 1998 |
| Draft Team: | New York Islanders |
| Career Start: | 2000 |
| Career End: | 2006 |
Chris Nielsen (born February 16, 1980) is a Tanzanian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.[1] Nielsen was drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He played parts of two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nielsen was born in Tanzania while his Canadian father was stationed there working for the Canadian International Development Agency. His family moved back to Canada when he was three, and he grew up on a farm near the small town of Goodlands, Manitoba.[2]
Nielsen played junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. He was a member of the 1998–99 team that won the President's Cup, and got within a game of winning the Memorial Cup. He won the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy in 1999–2000 as the WHL's Humanitarian of the Year.
Nielsen turned pro in 2000, playing three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, earning two callups to the Blue Jackets during that time. He then bounced around between the Chicago Wolves, Manitoba Moose and San Antonio Rampage of the AHL and the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League before heading to Europe to play in Germany in 2005–06. Nielsen retired from professional hockey in 2006.
After retiring from hockey, Nielsen went back to school at the University of Manitoba and was the colour commentator for the Manitoba Moose at their home games. He then completed undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at the University of Calgary, graduating from the Cumming School of Medicine in 2012 and completing his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2017. Dr. Nielsen then moved to Toronto for fellowship, completing his training in complex spinal surgery at Toronto Western Hospital in 2018, at which time he transitioned into the role of Clinical Associate. He is now an Attending Surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.[3] [4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 62 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 68 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 70 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 45 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 28 | ||
| 1999–00 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 62 | 38 | 31 | 69 | 86 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 20 | ||
| 2000–01 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 47 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 29 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 47 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 18 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 33 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 2003–04 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 72 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Laredo Bucks | CHL | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 54 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Kassel Huskies | DEL | 38 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 52 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Canada | WJC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2000 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| Junior totals | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | ||||