Jim Nill
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James Edward "Jim" Nill (Born April 11, 1958 in Hanna, Alberta) is a former NHL right winger and currently the Assistant General manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
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[edit] Junior career
Jim Nill played 1 season for the Drumheller Falcons of the AJHL in 1975. The next 3 years were spent with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WCHL. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in round # 6 (89th overall) in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft.
[edit] International career
The next season he played with the University of Calgary before signing on with the Canadian national team for 1979–80. Nill scored 32 points in 45 exhibition games then played six games for Canada at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.
[edit] Professional career
Jim Nill played 1 season for the Salt-Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL in 1980–81. He finally made his NHL debut in 1982 for St. Louis. He only played 1 season for the Blues before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Tony Currie, Rick Heinz and St. Louis' 4th round choice (Shawn Kilroy) in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft for Glen Hanlon on March 9, 1982. He helped the Canucks to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals where they would lose to the New York Islanders 4–0. After 2 more seasons in Vancouver Nill was traded to the Boston Bruins for Peter McNab on February 3, 1984. He did not receive very much ice time in Boston and consequently the Bruins ended up trading him to the Winnipeg Jets for Morris Lukowich on February 4, 1985. He played nearly 4 years for Winnipeg, However they were not able to defeat the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers or the Calgary Flames. He was sent to the AHL's Moncton Hawks. He did not stay in New Brunswick long as Detroit Red Wings head coach Jacques Demers liked his tough style of play. He was traded to Detroit on January 11, 1988 for fellow journeyman NHLer Mark Kumpel. He played the final 3 years of his NHL career in Detroit with brief stints for the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings. In Adirondack he was a teammate of Sheldon Kennedy. He retired from hockey as a player after 1991.
[edit] Management career
After he retired as an active player he joined the scouting staff of the Ottawa Senators as Amateur scout. He was promoted to professional scout after only 2 years. He joined the Red Wings front office in the summer of 1994 following his 3 year stint with the Ottawa Senators.
Jim Nill's duties include directing Detroit's amateur scouting and selections at the annual NHL Entry Draft. He had also served as the general manager of the Adirondack Red Wings.
Nill continues to oversee the development of the Red Wings' prospects that are currently assigned to Detroit's main affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, as well as those in the Canadian junior and European leagues.
In his management role with the Detroit Red Wings he has helped the team to 3 Stanley Cup Championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
