Colton Gillies (born February 12, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He spent time playing for both the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL. Gillies spent the last five years of his professional career playing overseas, most notably spending time in the KHL playing for Dinamo Riga. He is the nephew of NHL hockey player Clark Gillies.
| Colton Gillies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Gillies with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2015 | |||
| Born |
February 12, 1989 White Rock, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Minnesota Wild Columbus Blue Jackets HC '05 Banská Bystrica Dinamo Riga | ||
| NHL draft |
16th overall, 2007 Minnesota Wild | ||
| Playing career | 2008–2021 | ||
Playing career
editGillies was the second overall pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2004 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft.[1] Gillies spent parts of four seasons with the Blades, but the team struggled and consequently Gillies played in only 10 playoff games during his major junior career. Still, he gained attention with his strong physical and two-way play, and was selected to represent Canada at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships in Finland, where Canada finished 4th overall.
That summer he was selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild, who traded up three spots in the draft in order to pick Gillies 16th overall.[2] Gillies was named captain of the Blades during the 2007-08 season and again represented his country at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic where he helped Canada to its fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament.[1]
Late in the 2007-08 season Gillies made his professional debut with the Wild's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros. He managed 8 points in 11 games with the team. That fall he cracked the Wild roster out of training camp and went on to play 45 games for the team during the 2008-09 season. Gillies recorded his first career point, an assist, on October 11, 2008 against the Boston Bruins,[3] and his first career goal on December 19, 2008 against the New York Islanders.[4]
Gillies spent the entirety of the 2009-10 season developing his game with the Aeros. Though he would remain with the Aeros for the majority of the 2010-11 season, Gillies was re-called by the Wild on April 3, 2011. He played the final 7 games of the season with Minnesota, contributing a goal in the last game of the season, a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars that ended the Stars' bid for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.[5]
On July 6, 2011, Gillies signed a two-year contract extension with the Wild.[6] In the 2011–12 season, Gillies struggled to establish a role with the Wild, assisting on only 2 goals in 37 games before on January 13, 2012, he was placed on waivers. The following day he was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.[7]
A free agent approaching the 2013-14 season, Gillies accepted an invite to attend the Buffalo Sabres training camp.[8] Unable to secure a contract with the Sabres he was reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans training camp, on September 21, 2013. He was then signed to a one-year AHL deal with the Americans on September 25, 2013.[9]
As a free agent again in the off-season, Gillies participated in his second consecutive training camp on a try-out with the New York Islanders. Gillies was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on a professional try-out to begin the 2014–15 season, before signing a one-year AHL deal on December 12, 2014.[10]
Gillies played for HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia during 2015-2016. After this, Gillies joined Dinamo Riga in the KHL for four seasons.[11] Gillies retired from professional hockey in 2021[12] and accepted a coaching position with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL.[13]
Personal
editGillies is also a firefighter, working in Penticton, British Columbia.[14] He and his partner had their first child, a boy, in late 2021.[15]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | North Delta Flyers | PIJHL | 44 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 2004–05 | Surrey Eagles | BCHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 63 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 65 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 148 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 58 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 72 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 64 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 82 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 32 | ||
| 2010–11 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 38 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 65 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 49 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 2014–15 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 70 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | HC ’05 iClinic Banská Bystrica | Slovak | 28 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 113 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 28 | ||
| 2016–17 | Dinamo Riga | KHL | 43 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Dinamo Riga | KHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Dinamo Riga | KHL | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Dinamo Riga | KHL | 52 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 154 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 136 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 144 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2008 Czech Republic | |
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Canada Pacific | U17 | 4th | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | |
| 2006 | Canada | IH18 | 
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | |
| 2007 | Canada | U18 | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2008 | Canada | WJC |
|
7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 23 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 44 | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Colton Gillies". WHL. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Wild Draft Notes and Trades". NHL.com. June 11, 2010. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ James MacDonald (October 11, 2008). "Wild 4, Bruins 3". NHL.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Wild 4, Islanders 1". NHL.com. December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Joe Yerdon (April 11, 2011). "Goal of the night: Colton Gillies whirling backhander crushes Dallas". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Wild Signs Gillies to two-year contract". TSN. July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets claim Colton Gillies off waivers from Wild". National Hockey League. January 14, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Sabres 2013 training camp roster" (PDF). Buffalo Sabres. September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ "Amerks sign Colton Gillies to AHL contract". Rochester Americans. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Sound Tigers sign Gillies". Bridgeport Sound Tigers. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Colton Gillies at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Around The Horn Hockey - NEWS: Former Minnesota Wild C Colton Gillies has announced his retirement from professional hockey. Gillies played 154 games with Minnesota and Columbus in his career, notching six goals and 18 points, in addition to 293 hits, from 2008 to 2013. The 16th-overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft played in Slovakia and Russia from 2015 to 2020. Gillies played in the 2007 CHL Top Prospects Game. Internationally, Gillies represented Canada in the 2008 World Juniors, winning the Gold Medal, and in the 2007 U-18 World Championship. Gillies has been hired by Surrey (BCHL) as an Assistant Coach. | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "NHL vet Gillies returns to help coach 'the new game' to Surrey Eagles players". Cloverdale Reporter. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Colton Gillies Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Colton Gillies Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database