| Kris Draper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Draper in 2007 | |||
| Born | (1971-05-24)May 24, 1971 (age 54) 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 aCanadian former professionalice hockey player and current director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager for theDetroit Red Wings, the team which he played 17 seasons for during his 20-yearNational Hockey League (NHL) playing career.
Draper is a four-timeStanley Cup champion (all with Detroit), aFrank 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 eitherJoe Kocur orDarren McCarty. His 222 playoff games ranked him tenth ofmost career playoff games played.
Draper grew up inWest Hill, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the east end ofToronto, where he playedminor ice hockey for theDon Mills Flyers of the MTHL. He played in the 1983Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Don Mills team, and in the 1984 tournament with the Toronto Young Nationals.[1]
After attendingDe La Salle College in Toronto, he was selected by theOntario Hockey League (OHL)'sWindsor Spitfires in the fourth round of the 1988 OHL Priority Selection. Instead of reporting to Windsor, however, Draper elected to play forTeam Canada.[citation needed]
Drafted 62nd overall in the1989 NHL Entry Draft by the originalWinnipeg Jets, Draper did not see much NHL action in his early years. He is a rarity in that he played in theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) and NHLbefore 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 theDetroit Red Wings in 1993 in exchange for $1.[2]Doug MacLean, the general manager of theAdirondack 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]
On May 29, 1996, during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals of the1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, Draper was checked from behind into the boards at the end of the players bench byColorado Avalanche playerClaude Lemieux. The hit forced Draper face-first into the dasher (the top edge of the boards), causing him to suffer a brokenjaw, broken nose, broken cheekbone and aconcussion. 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 massivebrawl ("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 the2003–04 season, when he scored 24 goals and 40 points, helping Detroit win thePresidents' Trophy as the team with the highest regular season point total. In addition to his offensive contributions, Draper also won theFrank J. Selke Trophy at season's end as the NHL's top defensive forward.[7]
Draper was selected to play forTeam Canada at the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin,Italy. Despite the personal achievement for Draper, Canada disappointed in the tournament, losing 2–0 toRussia in the quarter-finals and failing to medal.[citation needed]
During the2006–07 season, Draper was named analternate 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 in2008–09, $1.65 million in2009–10 and $1.25 million in the2010–11 for an annual salary cap hit of $1.58 million.[citation needed]
On March 17, 2009, Draper became the fifth player to play 1,000 games in a Red Wing uniform, a feat accomplished only byGordie Howe,Alex Delvecchio,Steve Yzerman,Nicklas Lidström andTomas Holmström. All aforementioned players, save for Holmström, are enshrined in theHockey 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:
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 inDetroit atJoe 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 theToronto Maple Leafs. During the game, Draper was involved in a heated physical exchange withGary Roberts, an uncommon occurrence in alumni games.[13]
Immediately following Draper's retirement from hockey, he was added to the Red Wings' front office staff 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 teammateSteve Yzerman, following the departure ofTyler Wright to Edmonton. On July 5, 2023, he was promoted to assistant general manager for the Red Wings.[14]
Draper and his wife, Julie, have two daughters, Kennedi and Kamryn, and a son, Kienan.Kienan was drafted by theSaginaw Spirit in the eighth round of the 2018Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft.[15][16] He played for theChilliwack Chiefs of theBritish Columbia Hockey League during the 2020–2021 season, and currently plays for theMichigan Wolverines.[17][18] Kienan was drafted in the seventh round, 187th overall, by theDetroit Red Wings in the2020 NHL Entry Draft.[19] Draper also plays competitive pickleball[20] including Grand Rapid's Beer City Open.[21]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| RepresentingCanada | ||
| Men'sice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2003 Finland | |
 | 2005 Austria | |
| World Cup of Hockey | ||
| 2004 Canada | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 1991 Canada | |
| 1990 Finland | |
Draper participated in eight international tournaments forCanada:
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Don Mills Flyers Midget AAA | MTHL | 40 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Canadian National Team | Intl | 60 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Canadian National Team | Intl | 62 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Ottawa 67's | OHL | 39 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 35 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 1990–91 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 61 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 113 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 67 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 | ||
| 1992–93 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 46 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 39 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 36 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 52 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 73 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 79 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1999–00 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 51 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 75 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 56 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 2002–03 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 82 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 58 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 24 | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 65 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 68 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 40 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,157 | 161 | 203 | 364 | 790 | 222 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 160 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Canada | WJC |  | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1991 | Canada | WJC | | 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 | | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2004 | Canada | WCH | | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Canada | WC |  | 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 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup | 1997,1998,2002,2008 | |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy | 2004 | [22] |
| Preceded by | Winner of theFrank J. Selke Trophy 2004 | Succeeded by |