Kyle Chipchura
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| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) |
| AHL Team | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | February 19, 1986 (age 21), Vimy, Alberta, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 18th overall, 2004 Montreal Canadiens |
| Pro Career | 2004 – present |
Kyle Chipchura (b. February 19, 1986) is a minor-professional hockey player. He was selected in the first round, 18th overall of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.
Kyle was born in Vimy, Alberta and played minor league hockey in nearby Legal, Alberta and Westlock, Alberta, and attended high school at R. F. Staples Secondary School. He currently plays with the Hamilton Bulldogs, in the American Hockey League.
Kyle attended Team Canada's selection camp prior to the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship and was expected to make the team despite being only 18 (players up to 21 years old are eligible for the tournament). During practice with the Raiders, he suffered a severed Achilles tendon and was not able to participate as a member of the gold-medal winning Canadian team. Kyle was able to recover, however, and was invited to try out again for the 2006 tournament. After being selected for the team, Chipchura was named team captain by Head Coach Brent Sutter on December 16th 2005. Being named the captain of Team Canada at any level is a highly prodigious honour, and the World Juniors are closely watched in Canada.
When asked why he chose Chipchura, Sutter said: "He's a heart and soul guy and when you have a team that is perhaps lacking some experience at the national level, which obviously we are, you need a real strong character and real strong person mentally that's totally committed to the way we want to play. He's probably a huge reflection of myself."
The 2006 team went on to win the gold medal making Kyle a national figure in Canadian hockey.
On March 25th, 2006, Chipchura was signed to a three-year contract by the Montreal Canadiens.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | ||
| 2002-03 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 63 | 9 | 21 | 30 | -- | 89 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 64 | 15 | 33 | 48 | -- | 118 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -- | 12 | ||
| 2004-05 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 28 | 14 | 18 | 32 | -- | 32 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -- | 25 | ||
| 2005-06 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 59 | 21 | 34 | 55 | -- | 81 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -- | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006-07 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 68 | 10 | 21 | 31 | -- | 52 | ||||||||
Stats as of November 17, 2006.
