Christopher Thomas Tamer (born November 17, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Atlanta Thrashers.

Chris Tamer
Tamer with the Chicago Wolves in 2005
Born (1970-11-17) November 17, 1970 (age 54)
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
Atlanta Thrashers
National team  United States
NHL draft 68th overall, 1990
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 1993–2006

Hockey career

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As a youth, Tamer played in the 1983 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Michigan Dynamos minor ice hockey team from.[1]

After playing two years in the junior league, Tamer was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round, 68th overall.[2] Upon being drafted Tamer played for the University of Michigan for four years where he established himself as a strong defenseman and hard hitter. After college, he reported to the Penguins minor league affiliate Cleveland Lumberjacks for the 1993–1994 season. That season he also made his debut with the Penguins, playing in 12 games. After another year split between the Penguins and the Lumberjacks Tamer played with the Penguins full-time for another three years. Shortly into the 1998–1999 season Tamer was traded to the New York Rangers.[3] Following that season the newly formed Atlanta Thrashers picked up Tamer in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft.[4] He played with the Thrashers for five years, providing veteran experience for the young team. He enjoyed the best season of his career during the 2000–2001 season, scoring 17 points and playing all 82 games in the season, the only time he played the full 82 game schedule. For the 2005–2006 season Tamer played in 14 games with the Chicago Wolves before retiring.[5]

In 2016, Tamer was named an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship.[6]

Personal life

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Tamer is married to Keely (née Libby) Tamer and they have three children together. Tamer is the owner of Crossfit Brighton.[7]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Redford Royals NAHL 40 10 20 30 217
1988–89 Redford Royals NAHL 31 6 13 19 79
1989–90 University of Michigan CCHA 42 2 7 9 147
1990–91 University of Michigan CCHA 45 8 19 27 130
1991–92 University of Michigan CCHA 43 4 15 19 125
1992–93 University of Michigan CCHA 39 5 18 23 113
1993–94 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 53 1 2 3 160
1993–94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 12 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 0 2
1994–95 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 48 4 10 14 204
1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 36 2 0 2 82 4 0 0 0 18
1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 70 4 10 14 153 18 0 7 7 24
1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 45 2 4 6 131 4 0 0 0 4
1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 79 0 7 7 181 6 0 1 1 4
1998–99 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 11 0 0 0 32
1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 52 1 5 6 92
1999–2000 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 69 2 8 10 91
2000–01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 4 13 17 128
2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 78 3 3 6 111
2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 72 1 9 10 118
2003–04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 38 2 5 7 55
2005–06 Chicago Wolves AHL 14 0 3 3 16
NHL totals 644 21 64 85 1183 37 0 8 8 52

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1999 United States WC 6 1 0 1 8
2002 United States WC 7 0 1 1 2
Senior totals 13 1 1 2 10

References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  2. ^ "Pens sign Tamer". The Ledger. 14 September 1993. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  3. ^ Lapointe, Joe (28 November 1998). "His Scoring Belittled, Kovalev Gets Revenge". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  4. ^ "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. 22 July 1999. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  5. ^ "Monday's Sports Transactions". USA Today. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  6. ^ "Klee Named U.S. Women's Nat'l Team Head Coach for 2016 IIHF WWC". usahockey.com. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Tucker, Cody (August 6, 2008). "In-depth: Should hockey fighting die off? Don't tell it to Tamer, Caufield, Laraque ☕️". dkpittsburghsports.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
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