Colby Williams (born January 26, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was drafted 173rd overall by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and previously played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Hershey Bears and Belleville Senators.

Colby Williams
Born (1995-01-26) January 26, 1995 (age 29)
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams
CSKA Moscow
Hershey Bears
Belleville Senators
Admiral Vladivostok
NHL draft 173rd overall, 2015
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

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Junior

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After playing minor hockey in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL), Williams was drafted 64th overall by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.[1][2]

On 18 January 2011, Williams made his WHL debut in a 4–3 loss against the Moose Jaw Warriors.[3] On 13 October 2012, he scored his first WHL points with two assists in a 4–3 win against the Everett Silvertips, playing 59 games with 19 assists in his rookie WHL season.[4] He scored his first two WHL goals in a 5–4 overtime loss against the Kelowna Rockets on 14 December 2013, ultimately playing 66 games with nine goals and 23 assists in his sophomore season.[2][5] In the 2014–15 WHL season, he improved on his previous numbers, with 11 goals and 30 assists in 64 games played. Prior to his final WHL season, he was named the captain of the Pats as an overage player, however, he missed most of the season with a wrist injury, finishing with five goals and seven assists in 19 appearances.[6][7]

Professional

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Williams was drafted 173rd overall by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[1] On 22 October 2016, he made his professional debut with the Capitals' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, in a 5–2 win against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, recording his first AHL assist.[8] On 4 November 2016, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 overtime win against the Springfield Thunderbirds, which was the game-winning goal in his two-point performance.[9] He ultimately recorded four goals and 12 assists in 60 appearances for the Bears in his first professional season, winning the Bears' rookie of the year award.[10]

The Capitals signed Williams to a two-year entry-level contract on 2 March 2017.[11] In the 2017–18 AHL season, he played 69 games with three goals and 14 assists for the Bears. In the 2018–19 AHL season, he played 36 games with ten assists.[2] The Capitals re-signed Williams to a one-year two-way contract extension on 13 July 2019, where he appeared in 31 games with six assists for the Hershey Bears in the 2019–20 AHL season.[12]

On 8 January 2021, the Belleville Senators signed Williams to a one-year AHL contract.[13]

As a free agent from the Senators, Williams signed his first contract abroad after agreeing to a one-year contract with Russian club, Admiral Vladivostok of the KHL, on July 20, 2022.[14]

Personal life

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Williams is a part-owner of a hockey consulting business based in Regina.[15]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Regina Pats WHL 59 0 19 19 70
2013–14 Regina Pats WHL 66 9 23 32 82 4 0 0 0 8
2014–15 Regina Pats WHL 64 11 30 41 95 9 3 5 8 12
2015–16 Regina Pats WHL 19 5 7 12 20 12 2 7 9 14
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 60 4 12 16 40 3 1 0 1 4
2017–18 Hershey Bears AHL 69 3 14 17 94
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 36 0 10 10 33 3 0 0 0 4
2019–20 Hershey Bears AHL 31 0 6 8 46
2020–21 Belleville Senators AHL 27 3 7 10 24
2021–22 Belleville Senators AHL 51 2 6 8 64 2 0 0 0 2
2022–23 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 67 1 17 18 40 9 0 0 0 8
2023–24 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 21 0 2 2 56
2023–24 CSKA Moscow KHL 33 1 8 9 11
AHL totals 278 13 55 68 303 8 1 0 1 10
KHL totals 121 2 27 29 107 9 0 0 0 8

References

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  1. ^ a b "Colby Williams Drafted 173rd Overall – Regina Pats". Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c "Colby Williams at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. ^ "Game summary: Regina Pats – Moose Jaw Warriors, January 28th, 2011". Western Hockey League. January 28, 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Game summary: Everett Silvertips – Regina Pats, October 13, 2012". Western Hockey League. October 13, 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Game summary: Kelowna Rockets – Regina Pats, December 14th, 2013". Western Hockey League. December 14, 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Colby Williams Out Indefinitely". Regina Pats. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Pats' Williams has had long hockey career in Regina". CBC News. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Game summary: Bridgeport Sound Tigers – Hershey Bears, October 22, 2016". TheAHL.com. 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Game summary: Hershey Bears – Springfield Thunderbirds, November 4, 2016". TheAHL.com. 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Colby Williams Stats and Player Profile". TheAHL.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Capitals Sign Lucas Johansen and Colby Williams". NHL.com. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-03-04. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Capitals re-sign defenceman Colby Williams to one-year contract". Sportsnet. 13 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Senators sign three players to one-year American Hockey League contracts". Belleville Senators. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-12. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Welcome aboard Colby!" (in Russian). Admiral Vladivostok. July 20, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Harder, Greg (7 November 2020). "Colby Williams is expanding his hockey horizons during off-season of uncertainty". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
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