David Wilkie

David Wilkie (Born May 30, 1974 in Ellensburg, Washington, U.S.) is a retired American player who played in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Rangers. He played defense and shot right-handed.

Playing career
After a successful season with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL Wilkie was seen as one of the top upcoming defensive prospects in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft and was selected in the 1st round, 20th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. The following season Wilkie returned to the Blazers and made his international debut representing the U.S. in the 1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. The 1993–1994 season saw Wilkie split the year between the Blazers and Regina Pats while also returning to the WJC for 1994.

For the 1994–1995 season Wilkie made his pro debut and played the majority of the year with the Fredericton Canadiens of the AHL while also making his NHL debut, appearing in one game with the Montreal Canadiens. The following season he split time with Fredericton and Montreal, appearing in 23 and 24 games respectively. The 1996–1997 season saw Wilkie make the Montreal Canadiens full time, appearing in 61 games and scoring 15 points, both NHL career highs.

The 1997–1998 season saw Wilkie play 5 games with the Canadiens before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Injuries would hamper Wilkie in his time with the Lightning though. He played in 29 games with the Lightning during the 1997–1998 season and only 46 for the 1998–1999 season. The following season Wilkie signed with the New York Rangers, but ended up playing the majority of the time in the minors. He played the majority of 2 seasons with the Houston Aeros, appearing in one game with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 1999–2000 season and one game with the Rangers during the 2000–2001 season.

For the 2001–2002 season Wilkie signed with the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL as a player-coach. After one season with the Lynx Wilkie retired from hockey in 2002.

Coaching career
Following his player-coach stint, Wilkie returned for the 2002–2003 as an assistant coach for the Augusta Lynx. Midway through the season he replaced the head coach and finished the year as the head coach of the team, leading them to a 24–32–6 record. After this he went on to coach the Omaha Gladiators Bantam AA (majors) and led them to a 3rd place finish at Nationals.

Currently, Wilkie is the coach of the Jr.Lancers AA U16 team that competes in the Central States Developmental Hockey League. Wilkie led the Omaha Jr. Lancers to the National Championship Game at the 2008 USA Hockey Nationals in Buffalo, NY and almost got first, but placed second and finished the season with a 40–23–5 record. Wilkie also serves as the Volunteer Assistant Coach to the University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks, a Division I hockey school.