Rob Klinkhammer

Rob Klinkhammer

Klinkhammer in February 2015.
Born (1986-08-12) August 12, 1986
Lethbridge, AB, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Edmonton Oilers
Chicago Blackhawks
Ottawa Senators
Arizona Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007present

Robert Klinkhammer (born August 12, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger is currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Klinkhammer has previously played in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins organizations, making his NHL debut in 2010 with the Blackhawks.

Playing career

Amateur

Klinkhammer in December 2014.

Klinkhammer began his final season of major junior ice hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds, playing one game with the team before moving to finish his junior career with the Portland Winter Hawks and Brandon Wheat Kings, notching a junior career-best 33 goals, 40 assists for 73 points in 66 combined games. In 11 post-season games with Brandon, he had eight points after the Wheat Kings won the WHL's East Division Title.

Professional

Klinkhammer played his first professional season in 2007–08 with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). He made his professional debut on October 19, 2007, against the Binghamton Senators, providing an assist. He then scored his first career professional goal on November 23 against the Springfield Falcons, adding two assists for the Admirals' 4–2 win.

On June 8, 2009, Klinkhammer signed as a free agent with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, to a two-year, entry-level contract.[1] Following an injury to Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, Klinkhammer was recalled from Rockford to make his NHL debut on December 10, 2010, dressing for a home game win over the Dallas Stars.[2] On July 11, 2011, Klinkhammer signed a one-year contract extension with Chicago.[3]

On December 2, 2011, Klinkhammer was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2013.[4] He reported to the Senators' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. He played in his second NHL game, and first with the Senators, on March 4, 2012, against the Florida Panthers. After the game, Ottawa Head Coach Paul MacLean was impressed, calling Klinkhammer "one of our best players."[5]

Rob Klinkhammer during his time with the Coyotes.

On July 3, 2012, Klinkhammer signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes. With the 2012–13 NHL lockout in affect, however, he was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He scored his first career hat-trick October 23, 2012. When the lockout was resolved in January 2013, Klinkhammer remained with Portland, though he was eventually recalled to the Coyotes, later earning the nickname "The Colonel" after his surname's resemblance to the fictional character Colonel Klink's from the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes.[6]

On December 5, 2014, Klinkhammer, along with a conditional fifth-round pick in 2016, was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Philip Samuelsson.[7]

On January 2, 2015, Klinkhammer and a first-round pick in 2015 were traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for David Perron.[8] On January 6, Klinkhammer landed a blindside-hit on Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzén, causing the latter a severe concussion that ended his season.[9] On February 20, Klinkhammer signed a one-year, $650,000 contract extension with the Oilers, keeping him with the organization through to the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.[10] He finished the 2014–15 season with five goals and four assists from 69 games split between the Coyotes, Penguins and Oilers.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 25 2 3 5 12
2004–05 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 72 14 12 26 81 5 0 1 1 4
2005–06 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 35 5 7 12 15
2005–06 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 32 3 5 8 37 7 0 1 1 6
2006–07 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 1 0 0 0 9
2006–07 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 37 23 19 42 70
2006–07 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 28 10 21 31 29 11 4 4 8 22
2007–08 Norfolk Admirals AHL 66 12 12 24 41
2008–09 Rockford IceHogs AHL 76 15 18 33 32 4 0 1 1 0
2009–10 Rockford IceHogs AHL 72 10 14 24 38 4 1 1 2 7
2010–11 Rockford IceHogs AHL 76 17 29 46 63
2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Rockford IceHogs AHL 18 2 4 6 6
2011–12 Binghamton Senators AHL 35 12 23 35 30
2011–12 Ottawa Senators NHL 15 0 2 2 2
2012–13 Portland Pirates AHL 53 14 30 44 36
2012–13 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 22 5 6 11 10
2013–14 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 72 11 9 20 19
2014–15 Arizona Coyotes NHL 19 3 0 3 4
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 10 1 2 3 0
2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 1 2 3 23
NHL totals 179 21 21 42 58

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.