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Tyler Kennedy
Born (1986-07-15)July 15, 1986,
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height
Weight
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
Pro clubs Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
NHL Draft 99th overall, 2004
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2007–2016

Tyler Kennedy (born July 15, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. He was selected by the Penguins in the fourth round, 99th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career[]

2012 Kennedy

Kennedy with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012.

Kennedy was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round, 99th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.[1] After being selected, Kennedy played two seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He then began playing for Pittsburgh's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for the 2006–07 season. The next season, 2007–08, Kennedy then played in his first NHL game on October 27, 2007, against the Montreal Canadiens. He later scored his first career NHL goal on November 3 against the New York Islanders.

Tyler Kennedy

Kennedy with the Pittsburgh Penguins in February 2008.

In his debut season, Kennedy was named to the NHL's YoungStars Team in 2008 alongside Penguins teammate Kris Letang. Kennedy, however, was unable to compete in the game due to mononucleosis. In September 2008, just prior to the 2008–09 season, the Penguins signed Kennedy to a contract extension through to the 2010–11 season.[2]

In the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, Kennedy scored a goal in Game 4 of the series,[3] also adding the game-winning goal in Game 6.[4] The Penguins would go on to defeat Detroit in seven games to win the Stanley Cup.[3]

Although up to this point Kennedy has had a low profile in terms of hockey fame, he attracted some notoriety when Penguins fans and ultimately the public address announcer at Mellon Arena would chant his name in the style of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Mr. Kennedy (Ken Anderson).[5]

Kennedy was re-signed by the Penguins in the 2011 off-season, although his signing caused some controversy when it was reported that Pittsburgh may have deterred former Penguin legend Jaromír Jágr by signing Kennedy.[6] Jágr later signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh's state rivals.[7] Early in the 2011–12 season with the Penguins, Kennedy was sidelined by a concussion. He was later traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2013.[8]

On March 2, 2015, Kennedy was traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2016 conditional third-round pick.[9]

In September 2015, Kennedy attended training camp on invitation with the New Jersey Devils as a professional tryout before being released after appearing in three pre-season games.[10] Unsigned after the first quarter of the 2015–16 played, Kennedy returned to the Devils fold, in training with the club on another professional tryout deal on November 18, 2015.[11]

On November 27, 2015, Kennedy signed a one-year, two way contract with the New Jersey Devils for $600,000.[12]

Kennedy announced his retirement on January 3, 2017.[13]

Personal life[]

Tyler Kennedy married Brandi Engel on May 9, 2014, in Maui, Hawaii.[14] The couple has one daughter, Cookie, who was born on October 28, 2015.[15]

Awards[]

Career statistics[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 61 5 10 15 33 4 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 63 16 26 42 28
2004–05 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 61 21 36 57 37 4 1 3 4 4
2005–06 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 64 22 48 70 60 4 1 2 3 2
2006–07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 40 12 25 37 20
2007–08 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 10 5 4 9 10
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 55 10 9 19 35 20 0 4 4 13
2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 67 15 20 35 30 24 5 4 9 4
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 64 13 12 25 31 10 0 0 0 2
2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 21 24 45 37 7 2 1 3 2
2011–12 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 60 11 22 33 29 6 3 3 6 2
2012–13 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 46 6 5 11 19 9 2 3 5 2
2013–14 San Jose Sharks NHL 67 4 13 17 34
2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL 3 2 1 3 0
2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 25 4 5 9 8
2014–15 New York Islanders NHL 13 2 3 5 2 3 0 0 0 2
2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 50 3 13 16 14
NHL totals 527 89 126 215 239 79 12 15 27 27

References[]

  1. NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results. National Hockey League.
  2. Penguins Re-Sign Forward Tyler Kennedy. National Hockey League (September 26, 2008). Retrieved on September 26, 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Buker, Rick (2010). "Total Penguins: The Definitive Encyclopedia of the Pittsburgh Penguins". Retrieved on October 5, 2012. 
  4. You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.Wharnsby, Tim (June 10, 2009). . The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on October 5, 2012.
  5. Rossi, Rob (March 17, 2008). Pens' 'Mr. Kennedy' enjoys attention from fans. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
  6. Yerdon, Joe (December 29, 2011). Apparently Tyler Kennedy Prevented Jagrs return to Pittsburgh. Retrieved on March 2, 2015.
  7. "Flyers sign Jagr and Talbot, lose Leino.", July 2, 2011. Retrieved on October 3, 2012. 
  8. Dubow, Josh. "Sharks acquire Tyler Kennedy from Penguins", 2013-06-30. Retrieved on 2013-07-07. 
  9. Islanders trade for Neuvirth, Kennedy: report. National Hockey League (March 2, 2015). Retrieved on March 2, 2015.
  10. Devils give Kennedy the Ax from PTO. NBC Sports (2015-10-03). Retrieved on 2015-10-03.
  11. New Jersey Devils (2015-11-18). Devils invite Kennedy to train on PTO. Twitter]]. Retrieved on 2015-11-18.
  12. NBC Sports | date= 2015-11-27
  13. http://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1027493&binId=1.1142344&playlistPageNum=1
  14. Sinichak, Jessica (May 9, 2014). Brandi Engel & Tyler Kennedy. Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved on March 2, 2015.
  15. Engel, Brandi (November 1, 2015). Brandi Engel - Cookie G Kennedy ❤ Born 10/28/15 at 7:50 am. 6 lbs, 14oz, 20.25 in.. Facebook. Retrieved on June 12, 2016.

External links[]

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