Kris Draper
Draper in 2007
Born (1971-05-24) May 24, 1971
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 62nd overall, 1989
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1989–2011

Kristopher Bruce "Kris" Draper (born May 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager for the Detroit Red Wings, the team which he played 17 seasons for during his 20-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career.

Draper is a four-time Stanley Cup champion (all with Detroit), a Frank J. Selke Trophy winner and has scored over 100 goals in his NHL career with the Red Wings. Draper was a member of the famous "Grind Line" in Detroit, consisting of himself, Kirk Maltby and either Joe Kocur or Darren McCarty. His 222 playoff games ranked him tenth of most career playoff games played.

Playing career

Draper grew up in West Hill, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the east end of Toronto, where he played minor ice hockey for the Don Mills Flyers of the MTHL. He played in the 1983 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Don Mills team, and in the 1984 tournament with the Toronto Young Nationals.[1]

After attending De La Salle College in Toronto, he was selected by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Windsor Spitfires in the fourth round of the 1988 OHL Priority Selection. Instead of reporting to Windsor, however, Draper elected to play for the Team Canada.

Drafted 62nd overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the original Winnipeg Jets, Draper did not see much NHL action in his early years. He is a rarity in that he played in the American Hockey League (AHL) and NHL before playing junior in the OHL. After playing just 20 NHL games for the Jets in four seasons since he was drafted, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1993 in exchange for $1.[2] Doug MacLean, the general manager of the Adirondack Red Wings at the time and a former Detroit Red Wings assistant, was responsible for the trade.[3] Draper would quickly become a valuable fixture for Detroit, and he began his reputation as the "One Dollar Man," eventually becoming one of only seven players (four others were longtime teammates) to play over 1,000 games in a Red Wings uniform.[4]

Draper warming up before a 2008 game against the Boston Bruins.

On May 29, 1996, during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals of the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, Draper was checked from behind into the boards at the end of the players bench by Colorado Avalanche player Claude Lemieux. The hit forced Draper face-first into the dasher (the top edge of the boards), causing him to suffer a broken jaw, broken nose, broken cheekbone and a concussion. After the game, when interviewed about the hit and the handshake line, Draper's teammate, Dino Ciccarelli, reacted and coldly remarked, "I can't believe I shook this guy's friggin' hand after the game! That pisses me right off!"[5] When the Wings and Avalanche met again on March 26, 1997, play was very physical between the two teams, and the existing animosity over the hit on Draper set off a massive brawl ("Brawl in Hockeytown") between the two teams.[6] According to ESPN’s E60 Special “Unrivaled,” Draper has not yet forgiven Lemieux for the hit, nor has Lemieux reached out to apologize.

Draper did not have a breakout season offensively until the 2003–04 season, when he scored 24 goals and 40 points, helping Detroit win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the highest regular season point total. In addition to his offensive contributions, Draper also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy at season's end as the NHL's top defensive forward.[7]

Draper was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Despite the personal achievement for Draper, Canada disappointed in the tournament, losing 2–0 to Russia in the quarter-finals and failing to medal.

During the 2006–07 season, Draper was named an alternate captain of the Red Wings. On October 25, 2007, he signed a three-year, $4.75 million contract extension with the team. He earned $1.85 million in 2008–09, $1.65 million in 2009–10 and $1.25 million in the 2010–11 for an annual salary cap hit of $1.58 million.

Draper prior to a faceoff against the Calgary Flames.

On March 17, 2009, Draper became the fifth player to play 1,000 games in a Red Wing uniform, a feat accomplished only by Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidström and Tomas Holmström. All aforementioned players, save for Holmström, are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and all have had their numbers retired by the Red Wings, except for Holmström. In Draper's case, his 1,000th game in a Red Wing uniform was his 1,020th game overall (passing the 1,000 NHL game milestone February 2, 2009).[8]

Draper, discussing his accomplishment, said:

"Anytime you can join a group like that or there's a sentence and Draper slides in with them, it's a huge honor. I know I've been fortunate. I've been able to stay relatively healthy throughout my career and just been given a tremendous opportunity to remain a Red Wing as long as I have. A thousand games in a Red Wings uniform is something that I'm really proud of. I never imagined we'd be sitting here talking about something like that."[9]

On July 25, 2011, the Detroit Red Wings prematurely announced the retirement of Draper, which was to be announced the next day at an 11 a.m news conference in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena. The news of the retirement was leaked through a photo album the organization posted on their official website. The album, titled "Kris Draper in Photographs," contained 71 pictures. The 68th picture was accompanied by a caption that read, "After 1,157 games and four Stanley Cup championships, Kris Draper announced his retirement during a press conference on July 26, 2011."[10] It was reported that Draper desired to play another season; however, the team did not have a roster spot for him, and he refused to sign a two-way deal or attend training camp to try out for a roster spot.[11] Draper retired on July 26, 2011.[12]

Draper returned to the ice on December 31, 2016, playing for the Red Wings in their Centennial Classic alumni game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the game, Draper was involved in a heated physical exchange with Gary Roberts, an uncommon occurrence in alumni games.[13]

Post-playing career

Immediately following Draper's retirement from hockey, he was added to the Red Wings' front office staff. He previously served as the special assistant to the general manager, Ken Holland. In this position Draper "work[s] closely with Detroit’s management team, assisting in player evaluation at both the professional and amateur levels. He will be asked to provide input regarding potential trades and free agent signings, as well as providing insight into potential selections at the annual NHL Entry Draft."

On July 11, 2019, Draper was promoted to director of amateur scouting by new general manager and former teammate Steve Yzerman, following the departure of Tyler Wright to Edmonton. On July 5, 2023, he was promoted to assistant general manager for the Red Wings.[14]

Personal life

Draper and his wife, Julie, have two daughters, Kennedi and Kamryn, and a son, Kienan. Kienan was drafted by the Saginaw Spirit in the eighth round of the 2018 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft.[15][16] He played for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League during the 2020–2021 season, and currently plays for the Michigan Wolverines.[17][18] Kienan was drafted in the seventh round, 187th overall, overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[19]

International play

Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Finland
Silver medal – second place 2005 Austria
World Cup of Hockey
Gold medal – first place 2004 Canada
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Canada
Gold medal – first place 1990 Finland

Draper participated in eight international tournaments for Canada:

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Don Mills Flyers Midget AAA MTHL 4035326746 —————
1988–89 Canadian National Team Intl 6011152616 —————
1989–90 Canadian National Team Intl 6212223444 —————
1990–91 Ottawa 67's OHL 3919426135 178111920
1990–91 Moncton Hawks AHL 72132 —————
1990–91 Winnipeg Jets NHL 31015 —————
1991–92 Moncton Hawks AHL 61111829113 40116
1991–92 Winnipeg Jets NHL 102022 20000
1992–93 Moncton Hawks AHL 6712233540 522418
1992–93 Winnipeg Jets NHL 70002 —————
1993–94 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 4620234349 —————
1993–94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 39581331 72244
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 3626822 1841512
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52791632 1842618
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76851373 2024612
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6413102345 1913412
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 804141879 100116
1999–00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 51571228 92026
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 758172538 60112
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8215153056 2323520
2002–03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8214213582 40004
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6724164031 121346
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8010223258 60006
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8114152958 1820224
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 65981768 2231410
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 797101740 81010
2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 817152228 1200016
2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47651112 80112
NHL totals 1,157161203364790 222242246160

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1990 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 2 2 4
1991 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 3 4 0
2000 Canada WC 4th 3 1 0 1 0
2001 Canada WC 5th 7 1 2 3 0
2003 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 9 0 3 3 10
2004 Canada WCH 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 2 2 4 2
2005 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 0 2 2 6
2006 Canada OG 7th 6 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 14 1 5 6 4
Senior totals 39 4 9 13 18

Awards and honours

Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008
Frank J. Selke Trophy 2004 [20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  2. ↑ Wheatley, Tom (2003-06-20). "Futures can help the present". Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  3. ↑ Murray, Ray (February 8, 1996). "WINGS GRATEFUL TO MACLEAN, MURRAY". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Detroit Red Wings Career Leaders". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  5. ↑ "Making of the league's bloodiest rivalry". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  6. ↑ "Remembering the NHL's most brutally epic brawl 20 years later". For The Win. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  7. ↑ "Kris Draper Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  8. ↑ Khan, Ansar (2009-03-17). "Kris Draper set for 1,000th game with Red Wings". mlive. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  9. ↑ Khan, Ansar (2009-03-17). "Kris Draper set for 1,000th game with Red Wings". mlive. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  10. ↑ Malik, George. "Looks Like Draper Retiring Tomorrow". Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  11. ↑ Khan, Ansar (25 July 2011). "Red Wings' Kris Draper to announce retirement Tuesday during news conference". Michigan Local News. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  12. ↑ "Report: Wings' Draper to announce retirement".
  13. ↑ Kulfan, Ted. "Draper dominates alumni game with goal, near-fight". Detroit News. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  14. ↑ Khan, Ansar (July 5, 2023). "Kris Draper promoted to Red Wings' assistant GM, continues role as scouting director". MLive.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Son of Wings' Draper selected in OHL draft". The Detroit News. April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Kris Draper Bio". Detroit Red Wings. April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Chilliwack Chiefs add player with NHL bloodlines". Chilliwack Chiefs. February 20, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Kienan Draper Bio". Michigan Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  19. ↑ St. James, Helene (October 7, 2020). "Detroit Red Wings pick Kris Draper's son in Round 7". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Frank J. Selke Trophy winners". National Hockey League. 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
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